As someone who has investigating cases of FGM in their job remit... the difficulty comes that we have to have parental consent to do a medical of a child. Additionally our local sexual assault referral clinic will only examine a child with a member of a local FGM awareness charity present to speak to parents.

Further - in France children are fully examined yearly at a school medical. If there is no FGM one year, FGM the next - prosecution can occur. We don't have that level of examination in the UK. If we suspect FGM and the parents don't give consent for a child protection medical it's very difficult and at worst impossible to look into unless we think the child is in imminent danger e.g. they've made a disclosure, heavy bleeding, high fever etc. If the parent says it occurred abroad before moving to the UK then they can be advised only, and future female children born in the U.K. can have FGM prevention orders served on them.

We see cases in health where a mother comes into give birth and wants to have their FGM state re-done(?) after birth. That is a way to access families who might go forward to subject their children and educate them.

Safeguarding focus more than criminal focus.