Guidance

FGM: mandatory reporting in healthcare

Resources explaining healthcare professionals' duty to report cases of female genital mutilation (FGM) in girls under 18.

Documents

Details

Healthcare professionals must report to the police any cases of female genital mutilation (FGM) in girls under 18 that they come across in their work. This duty came into force on 31 October 2015.

These documents support healthcare professionals to carry out this duty. They include:

  • guidance on what healthcare professionals should do if they think a child has had or is at risk of FGM
  • guidance for confirming ‘known’ cases of FGM in under 18-year-olds
  • a poster explaining what the duty means for healthcare professionals
  • a training package to introduce the duty to healthcare professionals
  • a leaflet explaining the duty to patients

For further details you can read the procedural information and a fact sheet for mandatory reporting of FGM.

You can also watch Vanessa Lodge (National FGM Prevention Lead) and Juliet Albert (Specialist FGM Midwife) discuss what the new duty means for professionals, as part of our collection of FGM video resources.

Published 30 October 2015
Last updated 20 January 2017 + show all updates
  1. Updated the Provision for confirming suspected FGM in children - now titled Service standards for FGM care for under 18s - to follow the wording used by NHS England.

  2. New guidance for confirming suspected FGM in children added.

  3. Updated the FGM mandatory reporting duty: guidance for healthcare professionals.

  4. Added new resources as part of FGM prevention week

  5. First published.