Article: Honour Based Abuse, Child Trafficking and Female Genital Mutilation

Honour Based Abuse

Honour Based Abuse is an international term used by many cultures to justify abuse and violence. It is a crime or incident committed in order to protect or defend the family or community 'honour' (izzat). 

Honour based abuse may often be linked to forced marriages, although this is not always the case.  Honour crimes and forced marriages are already covered by the law, and can involve a range of criminal offences.

More information can be found on this national charity site

Child Trafficking

The Department for Education and the Home Office provide a guide to Safeguarding Children who may have been trafficked

Supporting and providing advice to professionals concerned about child trafficking

The NSPCC provides advice and guidance on child trafficking

ECPAT UK - End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and the Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes.  ECPAT UK is active in research, campaigning and lobbying government to prevent child exploitation and protect children in tourism and child victims of trafficking.

A recent report - On the Safe Side - sets out 10 principles for the safe accommodation of child trafficking victims and provides a useful resource for those providing accommodation for such children.

Female Genital Mutilation

The facts 

Female genital mutilation (FGM) includes procedures that intentionally alter or injure female genital organs for non-medical reasons.

  • The procedure has no health benefits for girls and women.
  • FGM is internationally recognised as a violation of the human rights of girls and women.
  • An estimated 100 to 140 million girls and women worldwide are currently living with the consequences of FGM. It is mostly carried out on young girls sometimes between infancy and age 15 years.
  • In Africa an estimated 92 million girls from 10 years of age and above have undergone FGM.
  • Procedures can cause severe bleeding and problems urinating, and later potential childbirth complications and newborn deaths.
  • It is illegal to practice FGM in the UK.

The law
The Female Genital Mutilation Act was introduced in 2003 and came into effect in March 2004. The act:

  • makes it illegal to practice FGM in the UK
  • makes it illegal to take girls who are British nationals or permanent residents of the UK abroad for FGM whether or not it is lawful in that country
  • makes it iilegal to aid, abet, counsel or procure the carrying out of FGM abroad
  • has a penalty of up to 14 years in prison and, or, a fine
  • Multi agency guidelines are available.

What are the signs that a child may be at risk of FGM?
Suspicions may arise in a number of ways that a child is being prepared for FGM to take place abroad. These include knowing that the family belongs to a community in which FGM is practised and is making preparations for the child to take a holiday, arranging vaccinations or planning absence from school. The child may also talk about a 'special procedure/ceremony' that is going to take place.
Girls are at particular risk of FGM during summer holidays. This is the time when families may take their children abroad for the procedure. Many girls may not be aware that they may be at risk of undergoing FGM.

UK communities that are most at risk of FGM include Kenyans, Somalis, Sudanese, Sierra Leoneans, Egytians, Nigerians and Eritireans. However women from non-African communities that are at risk of FGM include: Yemeni, Kurdish, Indonesian and Pakistani women.

If you have concerns that a girl or young woman may be taken overseas for FGM then please contact the FCO on 0207 008 1500 or email [email protected]

Sources of Information

The Home Office has launched free online training for frontline professionals in identifying and helping girls at risk of female genital mutilation (FGM). This comes as figures are released revealing that police forces have investigated dozens of FGM cases over the last three years.

The course can be accessed through this link

The NSPCC has issued this useful factsheet

Multi agency practice guidelines, revised in July 2014, are available here 

information on safeguarding girls at risk of FGM is issued by the Chief Medical Officer

This leaflet explains the facts and the law

Barnsley Safeguarding Children Board Policies and Procedures are available here