IRTT factor F39 · Specific safeguarding
Female Genital Mutilation or Cutting
This factor considers the risk of female genital mutilation or cutting, including past FGM/C, planned procedures and community pressure to continue the practice.
The factor
FGM/C can form part of a wider pattern of coercive control, and shame, stigma and fear of criminalising a community can affect disclosure.
Some survivors understand FGM/C as a rite of passage or a source of belonging, and may not see it as abuse or a crime.
A review of 27 studies found many women did not see themselves as mutilated, and preferred terms such as cutting or circumcision.
Survivors may also have mixed feelings, including pride in their culture alongside pain, anger or regret about what was done to them.
Statutory guidance recognises that not everyone who has had FGM describes themselves as a victim, and asks professionals to use sensitive language.
Effect on risk
Risk to a girl can increase before a long holiday abroad, particularly in the school summer holidays, or where family pressure is strong.
A mother's own FGM history is a recognised risk factor, so explore it carefully and without judgement, alongside the family's views.
In 2024 to 2025, NHS services in England recorded 6,980 women and girls with FGM attending appointments.
Signs can be missed because of stigma, misplaced cultural sensitivity or a lack of training, so practitioners need confidence to ask and to act.
British Somali families in Bristol described FGM safeguarding as stigmatising and racist, and some avoided health care after repeated questioning about FGM.
Safeguarding duties
In England and Wales, regulated health and social care professionals and teachers must report known FGM in a girl under 18 to the police.
FGM is known when a girl discloses it, or when the professional sees physical signs that appear to show FGM has been carried out.
Reports are made by calling 101, ideally by the close of the next working day, and within one month of discovery at the latest.
Practitioners outside a regulated profession make a safeguarding referral for any girl at risk, following local safeguarding procedures.
A girl at risk, a local authority or, with the court's permission, another person can apply for an FGM Protection Order.
National FGM Support Clinics offer free physical assessment, deinfibulation where needed and counselling, and some clinics accept self-referral.
Questions for practice
- How does the survivor describe their own experience of FGM/C, and which words do they use for it?
- How does FGM/C feature in the pattern of abuse and control, and is there pressure for it to be carried out on anyone else?
- How might shame, stigma or fear of criminalising their community affect what the survivor feels able to tell you about FGM/C?
- Are there girls in the family who may be at risk, including through planned travel, and has a safeguarding referral been made for them?
- What are your own legal obligations in this case, and which specialist services and safeguarding leads do you need to involve without delay?
Using the IRTT
FGM/C is factor F39 in the Intersectional Risk Tracker Tool, which assesses it alongside forty other intersectional risk factors.
Our session on female genital cutting on Wednesday 24 March 2027 explores this factor through case study discussion with other practitioners.
Further reading
Related factors
Sources