Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe: ‘We have to make positive we’ve explored all possibilities the existing legislation gives.’ Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA
Necessary health care examinations to identify victims of female genital mutilation (FGM) might have to be considered in the United kingdom, the head of Britain’s largest police force has explained.
The Metropolitan police commissioner, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, said there had been a lack of referrals from schools and health-related pros about girls who had undergone the procedure, as an operation was launched at airports to identify possible victims.
An estimated 66,000 girls in the Uk have undergone FGM and a lot more than twenty,000 ladies beneath 15 are believed to be at chance of the practice, which is classed as torture by the UN.
The initial Uk prosecution for alleged FGM started earlier this 12 months, while there have reportedly been a hundred FGM-connected convictions in France.
Speaking at Heathrow airport, Hogan-Howe stated: “They have a slightly various program in France so they can have mandatory medical examinations. We feel which is one of the things that makes a difference for them. We have to rely on receiving our message out by means of the media and encouraging members of the public to come forward.”
Asked whether or not necessary healthcare examinations must be introduced in the Uk, he explained: “It really is a single of the things I feel most likely the government is going to have to consider at some stage. The 1st factor we have to do is make positive we’ve explored all options the present legislation supplies.”
Hogan-Howe said it was crucial for colleges and health-related specialists to get in touch with police with info about FGM victims to ensure individuals accountable had been prosecuted.
He mentioned: “We’re not acquiring an terrible whole lot of referrals from the community, from healthcare experts or from educational experts. We need to have these since with out that we cannot start an investigation. Of program the victims could come forward sooner or later. But what we do know is that’s very tough. If you have to report against your mother and father, that is clearly very a challenge.
“It’s actually important they recognize the barbarity of this act and it is a criminal offence which is punishable by 14 years’ imprisonment.”
Police this week launched Operation Limelight at airports across the country which targeted flights to and from nations acknowledged to carry out FGM.
Beneath the joint-force operation, officers at Heathrow spoke to passengers on 13 outbound flights to “high-threat” countries. Passengers have been warned that FGM is unlawful in the Uk and if caught, offenders encounter a large fine and a prison sentence of up to 14 years.
Flights to Heathrow from Nigeria and Sierra Leone had been also targeted as officers sought to determine kids subjected to FGM and any individual who may possibly have arranged the process.
The week-long initiative at airports across the nation aimed to determine ladies who may possibly have been mutilated as well as warning United kingdom passengers that it was illegal to arrange for a kid to be flown abroad for the procedure.
DC Supt Keith Niven, head of the Met’s Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Little one Abuse (SOECA) Command, said: “FGM is an abhorrent offence which consists of violent assaults upon kids. This is an illegal practice and it will not be tolerated in the United Kingdom. It truly is truly essential to educate people who engage in this practice so they are mindful that this is not a reputable way to carry children up.
“This is child abuse … and men and women will be prosecuted if we discover evidence of this.”
Operation Limelight was supported by Uk Border Force and the National Crime Agency, as properly as officers from the Met, Essex, Avon and Somerset, Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, Sussex and West Midlands police forces.
Met chief says Uk might flip to necessary health-related tests for FGM
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