Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:11 pm on 8 June 2021.
First Minister, as you just briefly mentioned, female genital mutilation, or FGM, is a crime and is undoubtedly abuse. This practice can cause extreme and lifelong physical and psychological suffering to women and girls, and it simply cannot be tolerated. Studies have shown two of the barriers to reporting new cases of FGM. First of all, there are fears of retribution from the wider community and concerns about interference in private family life. Secondly, secrecy concerning the practice means that traditional celebrations of FGM as a right of passage for girls are no longer held in the UK, and therefore wider family and community members may be unaware of FGM having taken place, or lack concrete evidence. What is your Government doing to heighten awareness that FGM is illegal, by working with those community leaders and groups most affected, to stamp out this practice once and for all here in Wales?