Agenda item

Leethen Bartholomew, Head of the National FGM Centre, will attend the meeting to provide an overview of its work which is run in partnership between the LGA and Barnardo’s.

The Chair invited Leethen Bartholomew, Head of the National FGM Centre, to introduce the item.  The National FGM Centre was set-up via a partnership Barnardo’s & the LGA, funded by the Department of Education (DoE), and works with local areas to try to tackle FGM.

Leethen gave his presentation to the Board via a PowerPoint presentation, which was shared with members.  In the presentation, Leethen:

·         Discussed the aims and objectives of the centre’s work, noting that the centre also supports local authorities in relation to breast flattening & child abuse linked to faith and belief.

·         Made reference to the Government’s Strategy to End Violence Against Women and Girls, which includes breast flattening and female genital mutilation (FGM).

·         Noted that this abuse has links to Human Trafficking and that abuse linked to faith or belief is a growing issue in the UK.

·         Outlined that FGM is a hidden crime, with reported cases of FGM being undertaken in the UK extremely hard to prove and women unwilling to report abuse due to fear and judgement. It was discussed that women who are victims of FGM are four times more likely to be victims of domestic abuse (DA). Leethen stated that all cases are extremely complex.

·         FGM is not just prevalent in countries in Africa, but also in South America, India and Asia. 

·         Described the centre’s services, including the knowledge hub tools, the FGM Assessment Tool (launched in February 2018) which has been globally accessed over 2000 times, and the Global Prevalence Map, as well as its community engagement work and early intervention and prevention work

·          Also made reference to Operation Limelight, which investigates inbound and outbound flights from the UK. 

The Chair thanked Leethen for his update and welcomed members to comment:

·         Members discussed how community engagement is key with this area of work. 

·         Members discussed the view of Sharia Law in relation to FGM, breast flattening and abuse linked to faith and belief. Leethen stated that there was no religious justification for FGM in Islam. Members noted FGM is practiced across a range of religions, , and that this type of abuse is much more linked to culture. 

·         Members discussed the link with mental health (which is a modern, Western concept) and this type of abuse. 

·         Member discussed operational issues in relation to low prevalence areas (and made reference to paragraph five), noting that the initial focus on low prevalence areas was in made in agreement with the Department for Education.

The Chair thanked members for their comments. 

Action

·         Members noted the update. 

·         Leethen’s PowerPoint presentation to be circulated after the SSCB.