Only 18 of the new specialist protection orders designed to shield young girls from female genital mutilation (FGM) have been issued since they were introduced three months ago, according to Government figures.
From July to September only 28 applications were made, of which 18 were approved; a remarkably small number considering the estimated 63,000 young girls who are at risk of undergoing the illegal practice, and the 170,000 women aged 15 and over who have already undergone it.
Speaking to the Guardian, Celia Jeffreys, head of the National FGM Centre, a partnership project between Barnardo’s and the Local Government Association (LGA), said that professionals tasked with protecting children need to be ‘braver’ in there use of the powers afforded by the protection orders.
