But there has never been a successful prosecution under the Prohibition of Female Circumcision Act. Ms McCafferty said the government must give support to organisations who were dealing with the issue. It is a scandal that there have been no prosecutions under the UK law and that awareness of the law is minimal. The group carried out research among local health and education authorities, social services departments and refugee councils. It is not a question of culture of race.
Cultures are only sacred if they are consistent with human rights.
A group which campaigns against FGM has welcomed the government's initiative on the issue but called for more vigilance by the authorities. FGM involves procedures which include the partial or total removal of the external female genital organs, often for cultural reasons. The procedure is usually performed on girls between the ages of four to 13, but in some cases FGM is performed on babies or young women prior to marriage or pregnancy. Most of the females affected live in Africa, but numbers are growing in Western Europe, primarily among immigrant or refugee communities.