Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and thank you for calling me to speak. I’d also like to thank Julie Morgan and other Members for initiating this important debate. I think this is a policy issue that requires a cross-government approach, with the equality and social justice goals of the Welsh Government at the forefront of the action required. So, alongside Julie Morgan, I welcomed the action taken in July by the Cabinet Secretary for Education, who wrote to all schools in Wales highlighting the important role they can play in identifying potential victims and safeguarding them from FGM.

The NSPCC identifies some possible warning signs in a girl who has undergone FGM, such as being unable to cross her legs while sitting on the floor, being in pain or clutching at her body, and going to the toilet more often than usual and spending longer there. But, sometimes, there are no obvious signs as a young girl may be taken abroad over the summer holidays and be subject to FGM—as we saw on the film—to recover before the autumn term. This is known as 'the cutting season'.

This practice keeps FGM hidden and under the radar. The education Secretary has asked schools to be aware of this. I think it would be helpful to know more about the follow-up and monitoring by the Cabinet Secretary of her action to engage schools, particularly in terms of ensuring that staff have the necessary training and tools to help them effectively and confidently assist in addressing this highly sensitive issue. A cross-government response to FGM is vital, but, if we're to tackle this unacceptable abuse against women and girls, it's also vital that we recognise the role of the third sector, especially those who have the evidence, the skills, the cultural understanding and the experience to respond appropriately. BAWSO, as we've all heard, is an all-Wales organisation that has been supporting BME families affected by FGM for over 20 years.

In 2010—as Julie Morgan and Jenny Rathbone have already identified—they initiated the FGM community forum, which covers the Cardiff and Vale University Local Health Board with wider membership, including the NSPCC and Welsh Women's Aid. The forum's work has involved conducting surveys of practitioners to find out their level of knowledge of FGM as well as their confidence in supporting victims and survivors, and the forum has also been at the forefront of this campaign for an FGM clinic, as Jenny Rathbone has said—a good step forward, due to open soon, early in the new year.

But I've worked closely with BAWSO and know that their aim is to strengthen communities to take ownership of FGM, as Julie Morgan has said, through education awareness campaigns, in order to tackle this appalling form of abuse and eradicate it. Awareness raising is key. The wall of silence and secrecy that surrounds this topic keeps victims hidden and allows this devastating form of abuse to thrive—and it is abuse, with millions of women affected across 30 countries worldwide.   Many of us will have seen the programme on BBC Two last week with Kate Humble looking at south-west Kenya, where FGM is illegal but still deeply rooted in local culture. We witnessed local campaigners like Susan, an FGM survivor, and Patrick, a young man from the community, working tirelessly in the rural Kuria community to raise awareness and rescue young girls and women.

According to the World Health Organization,

'FGM is recognized internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and women. It reflects deep-rooted inequality between the sexes, and constitutes an extreme form of discrimination against women. It is nearly always carried out on minors and is a violation of the rights of children.'

To expose it, we must talk about it, we must have a cross-Government response and we must engage with those who are working at the front line. It is for that reason I welcome this debate. We must be guided by those on the front line, like BAWSO, and we must ensure that FGM is a priority for the Welsh Government and all statutory bodies here in Wales.