Female Genital Mutilation, Annual Report - April 2024 to March 2025

The FGM types defined by the World Health Organisation and used in the FGM Enhanced Dataset are:

• Type 1: Partial or total removal of the clitoris and/or the prepuce (clitoridectomy).
• Type 2: Partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia minora, with or without excision of the labia majora (excision).
• Type 3: Narrowing of the vaginal orifice with creation of a covering seal by cutting and appositioning the labia minora and/or the labia majora, with or without excision of the clitoris (infibulation).
• History of Type 3: Current state where a woman or girl had FGM Type 3 but has since been deinfibulated.
• Type 3 – Reinfibulation identified: Current state where a woman or girl has been closed previously, opened and is currently closed again.
• Type 4: All other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for non-medical purposes, including pricking, piercing, incising, scraping and cauterisation.
• Unknown: When the FGM category could not be ascertained. It is acknowledged that even for experienced healthcare workers who frequently see women and girls with FGM it can still often be difficult to determine the type of FGM that had been undertaken.

Are piercings included?

Yes. While adult women may choose to have genital piercings, in some communities’ girls are forced to have them. The World Health Organisation currently defines all female genital piercings as a form of FGM. The data item FGM Type 4 Qualifier allows users to specify that the FGM was a piercing. Genital piercings are classed as FGM Type 4 - Piercing

• Infibulation or FGM Type 3 is the narrowing of the vaginal orifice with creation of a covering seal by cutting and appositioning the labia minora and/or the labia majora, with or without excision of the clitoris.
• Deinfibulation is the surgical procedure to open up the closed vagina of a woman or girl with FGM Type 3. Deinfibulation is often undertaken to facilitate delivery during childbirth.
• Reinfibulation is where a woman or girl has been closed previously (infibulated), opened (deinfibulated) and is currently closed again (reinfibulated).

Common treatment functions associated with the identification and treatment of FGM include:

• Midwifery Service: Health services run by midwives to care for women during pregnancy, childbirth and in the postpartum period following childbirth. Midwives typically oversee low risk pregnancies.
• Obstetrics: Medical services run by doctors that specialise in the care of women during pregnancy, childbirth and in the postpartum period following childbirth. Obstetricians typically oversee more risky pregnancies, including surgical interventions.
• Gynaecology: The branch of medicine that specialises in the health and maintenance of the female reproductive systems (vagina, uterus and ovaries) and breasts.
• Mental Health Recovery and Rehabilitation Service: Specialist services that support people with longer term mental health problems, with a focus on rehabilitation and recovery.