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<p>At the Girl Summit, hosted by the Prime Minister, in July 2014, the Government
set out a clear commitment to end female genital mutilation (FGM) and announced a
comprehensive package of domestic measures to achieve this. The Government published
update multi-agency guidelines to support better co-ordination of guidance on protecting
girls from FGM. On 5 December the Government published a public consultation which
seeks views on how to put these guidelines on a statutory basis to increase awareness
of FGM and improve compliance with good practice.</p><p>The Government also set out
a range of measures to improve the law enforcement response and increase prosecution
rates for FGM including the introduction of new legislation, the publication of new
police guidance on FGM, and a review by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary
into ‘so called’ honour based violence with a focus on FGM to commence in 2015. In
addition, 42 forces have signed joint protocols with the Crown Prosecution Service
on the investigation and prosecution of FGM, and the Government published a consultation
on 5 December on how to introduce a mandatory reporting duty to increase referrals
to the police in order to support more prosecutions.</p><p>A prevalence study on FGM
was also published by Equality Now and City University on 22 July, part-funded by
the Home Office, identifying that approximately 60, 000 girls aged 0-14 have been
born in England and Wales to mothers who had undergone FGM. Further data disaggregated
to a local level will be published in early 2015. In addition, the Health and Social
Care Information Centre published the first ever NHS FGM data on 16 October. This
is a critical first step in understanding the extent of FGM in England as reported
to health professionals.</p><p>The Government works in close partnership with stakeholders
in reviewing peer studies on FGM, and is committed to identifying and sharing good
practice. On 22 July, the Government published a FGM resource pack on gov.uk including
examples of good local practice in Bristol informed by the Bristol Peer study.</p><p>
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