London man charged with female genital mutilation | Express Digest

The 49-year-old, who is of African descent, faces two charges under FGM Act
Offences against a young girl allegedly happened between 2010 and 2013
Defendant, from south London, also charged with three counts of child cruelty

By Charlie Moore For Mailonline

Published: 17:08 GMT, 2 November 2017 | Updated: 18:23 GMT, 2 November 2017

A man has been charged with female genital mutilation in only the second case of its kind to be brought in Britain.

The 49-year-old, who is of African descent, faces two charges under the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 and two alternative counts of wounding with intent.

The alleged offences against a young girl are said to have happened between 2010 and 2013.

A man has been charged with female genital mutilation in only the second case of his kind to be brought in Britain

The defendant, from south London, has also been charged with three counts of child cruelty, the Crown Prosecution Service announced.

The case, investigated by the Metropolitan Police, is only the second to come to court under the FGM Act.

In 2014, Director of Public Prosecutions Alison Saunders announced the first FGM prosecution in the UK against a doctor.

Dr Dhanuson Dharmasena, 34, was accused of carrying out an illegal procedure when stitching a woman after she gave birth at the Whittington Hospital, north London, in 2012.

In 2014, Director of Public Prosecutions Alison Saunders announced the first FGM prosecution in the UK against a doctor

The NHS doctor was found not guilty of performing FGM and a second man, Hasan Mohamed, 43, of Holloway, north London, was cleared of aiding and abetting him.

FGM is illegal in the UK and it is also illegal to take a female abroad for the purposes of FGM.

The maximum jail term for carrying out or enabling FGM is 14 years.

The defendant, who has not been identified, will appear before Woolwich Crown Court on Friday.

Campaigners fight against FGM

Campaigners have called for more to be done to fight female genital mutilation (FGM) after UK figures in July revealed cases have dropped by only five per cent in a year.

There were 5,391 newly recorded cases in England during 2016-17 – a decrease of just 309 compared to the year before, according to NHS Digital.

FGM, which is sometimes known as female circumcision, is usually carried out on young girls between infancy and the age of 15.

The practice – which is illegal in the UK and considered an act of child abuse – is carried out for cultural, religious and social reasons within communities often to preserve a girl’s sexual ‘purity’.

Last December, headlines revealed that midwives are being flown to the UK to carry out FGM on several girls at a time at specially-organised ‘cutting parties’.

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