There have been no reports of female genital mutilation in Jersey in the past ten years, according to new data.
It recently emerged that Guernsey authorities have discovered a small number of FGM cases in the island within the past five years.
But, in response to a request made under the Freedom of Information Law, the States of Jersey Police confirmed there are no reports of FGM on their systems.
Female genital mutilation is defined by the Oxford dictionary as “the practice, traditional in some cultures, of partially or totally removing the external genitalia of girls and young women for non-medical reasons”.
Often carried out in newborns, teenagers, just before marriage, or during pregnancy, it is also known as “cutting”.
It isn’t necessarily linked to religion – but rather to some traditions.
FGM comes with serious health risks ranging from loss of blood to an increased risk of HIV/Aids.
In Jersey, anyone who carries out FGM or helps or encourages someone else carry out FGM is breaking the law.
Parents and people acting as parents also have a legal responsibility to protect their child from FGM.
And anyone who is “a regulated professional” – such as a teacher, doctor, social worker, midwife, or nurse – has an obligation to alert the police if they think FGM is being carried out on a child.
Jersey’s Violence Against Women and Girls report – published in 2023 – highlighted FGM as a particularly hard area to research, along with issues like forced marriage.
The report authors said they were “unable” to speak to anyone who has been through the procedure.
They added: “Victims-survivors of this type of abuse often face secrecy and community silence.
“When researchers spoke with to victim-survivors from minority ethnic groups, they described a legal situation that offered little protection to their communities and that had entrenched racist attitudes.”
The next steps outlined in the report were a “research plan” and making health professionals aware of their mandatory reporting duty of FGM.