| Short Title: | Children Act 1989 (Amendment) (Female Genital Mutilation) Act 2019 |
| Type: | Act |
| Parliament: | Parliament of the United Kingdom |
| Long Title: | A Bill to amend the Children Act 1989 to state that proceedings under Section 5A of, and Schedule 2 to, the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 are family proceedings |
| Year: | 2019 |
| Citation: | 2019 c. 10 |
| Introduced Commons: | Zac Goldsmith |
| Introduced Lords: | Lord Berkeley of Knighton |
| Territorial Extent: | England and Wales |
| Royal Assent: | 15 March 2019 |
| Commencement: | 15 March 2019 |
| Amends: | Children Act 1989 |
| Related Legislation: | Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 Serious Crime Act 2015 |
| Original Text: | https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2019/10/enacted |
| Legislation History: | https://services.parliament.uk/Bills/2017-19/childrenact1989amendmentfemalegenitalmutilation.html |
The Children Act 1989 (Amendment) (Female Genital Mutilation) Act 2019 (c. 10) is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which amends the Children Act 1989 to change the designation of proceedings under the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 as "family proceedings".
Zac Goldsmith, in the Second Reading debate in the House of Commons, stated in relation to female genital mutilation (FGM) court proceedings, "that is clearly an omission in the law, and it means that our courts do not have the full suite of powers necessary to protect girls who are at risk."[1]
The House of Commons Library notes that FGM has been illegal since 1985 and the most recent Female Genital Mutilation Act was introduced in 2003. Despite this there have been no successful prosecutions for FGM in the UK.[2]
Keith Vaz, then the Chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee, "It is shocking that 28 years on from female genital mutilation first being made a criminal offence, there has not yet been a successful prosecution in the UK. The Committee's inquiry will seek to find out why this is the case, as well as considering what more needs to be done to protect at risk girls."
This Act makes proceedings under the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 to occur in family courts in England and Wales.[3]