From the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 to the Serious Crime Act 2015 - the development of the law relating to female genital mutilation in England and Wales

Abstract

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is defined by the World Health Organization to include: ‘procedures that intentionally alter or cause injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons’. It is a practice that affects many females in England and Wales and as a result, specific legislation has been introduced to tackle it. This paper explores the development of the criminal and civil law relating to FGM in England and Wales. It discusses the advantages and disadvantages of the approaches adopted and considers whether they are effective. The paper concludes that the creation of a specific criminal offence has proved to be ineffectual; that the introduction of civil FGM protection orders is a more appropriate and effective means of combatting the practice and that legal measures need to be supplemented by non-legal interventions.

Keywords:

• Female genital mutilation
• FGM
• human rights
• criminal law
• civil law
• protection orders

Notes

1. In most cases, the law referred to also applies in Northern Ireland, but not Scotland.

2. 47 applications were made in the period.