FGM in the UK

By Stephanie Hubbard

Last week I listened to a devastating Women's Hour discussion on Radio 4 about Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in the UK. With children up and down the country now enjoying their summer holidays the programme draws attention to the number of young girls who are sent abroad by their families during this time to be 'cut'.

FGM is illegal in the UK but despite the number of families sending their daughters abroad to undergo this horrific procedure, there is yet to be a single prosecution. Jenni Murray talks to a representative from the Metropolitan police and Jane Ellison, Conservative MP for Battersea, about the issue and how to challenge cultural beliefs without causing offense to communities.

You can listen to the episode again on the Women's hour website here.