Citation 1985 c. 38 Royal assent 16 July 1985 | Introduced by Lord Kennet Commencement 16 September 1985 | |
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Long title An Act to prohibit female circumcision. Territorial extent England and Wales; Scotland; Northern Ireland | ||
The Prohibition of Female Circumcision Act 1985 (c. 38) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It made female genital mutilation a crime throughout the UK. It was introduced to the House of Lords by Wayland Young, 2nd Baron Kennet and passed on 16 July 1985.
Until 2009 no person has ever been successfully prosecuted under the Act, but a medical practitioner was stricken from the Medical Register in 1993 for having performed the procedure. The Act was replaced by the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 and the Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation (Scotland) Act 2005 respectively, both of which extend the legislation to cover acts committed by UK nationals outside of the UK's borders.
In December 2013, it was reported that Minister of State for the Home Office Norman Baker had encouraged the Director of Public Prosecutions to reopen or reconsider six cases involving female genital mutilation. In February 2014 it was announced that the first prosecution was scheduled soon thereafter. It was estimated that 170,000 women had been subject to the assault until then.