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FGM in children (<18)

Checked: 23-04-2022 by Rob Adams Next Review: 23-04-2024

Overview

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is illegal in the UK and is a Safeguarding issue. Please be aware of the need for mandatory reporting of all children (aged under 18) who have had, or are at risk of FGM. Mandatory reporting means that if you observe physical signs of FGM having occurred in a child, or if they have disclosed that they have had FGM, you have to report this to the police by calling 101 and explain that you are making a report under the FGM mandatory reporting duty. You should also make a safeguarding referral by following local safeguarding procedures. See the following page on the BNSSG ICB website for more details on FGM:

https://bnssg.icb.nhs.uk/health-and-care/health-advice-and-support

Please also see link to the FGM safeguarding pathway and risk assessment tools:

Safeguarding women and girls at risk of FGM - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

There is also the Children's Safeguarding page on Remedy which has information on local safeguarding procedures, including how to make a safeguarding referral to children’s social care.

The FGM (adult) page on Remedy also has further advice, although please note that the Rose Clinic does not accept referrals for patients aged under 18 years of age.

Referral

Mandatory reporting of FGM, in addition to a safeguarding referral, is required for all children under 18 as described above.

For further assessment and examination of children under 18 the following options are available:

Prepubertal Children

Younger children who have had FGM or suspected FGM can be referred to the Star Clinic for further examination and advice.

Postpubertal Children

Older children under the age of 18 who have been through puberty can be referred to the child and adolescent gynaecology service at UHBW.

University College London Hospitals FGM Clinic

See the Children's Female Genital Mutilation Clinic page for details. Further support for children and young people aged under 18 year is available by referring them to the specialist paediatric service at UCLH. Appointments for the clinic can be obtained by emailing:

UCLH.PaediatricSafeguarding@nhs.net

Efforts are made to ensure the accuracy and agreement of these guidelines, including any content uploaded, referred to or linked to from the system. However, BNSSG ICB cannot guarantee this. This guidance does not override the individual responsibility of healthcare professionals to make decisions appropriate to the circumstances of the individual patient, in consultation with the patient and/or guardian or carer, in accordance with the mental capacity act, and informed by the summary of product characteristics of any drugs they are considering. Practitioners are required to perform their duties in accordance with the law and their regulators and nothing in this guidance should be interpreted in a way that would be inconsistent with compliance with those duties.

Information provided through Remedy is continually updated so please be aware any printed copies may quickly become out of date.