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| UK's first FGM protection order secured by Beds police | UK's first FGM protection order secured by Beds police |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The first female genital mutilation protection order in the UK has been obtained by police, preventing two young girls thought to be at risk from travelling abroad. | The first female genital mutilation protection order in the UK has been obtained by police, preventing two young girls thought to be at risk from travelling abroad. |
| Bedfordshire Police secured the court order just as a law came into effect. | |
| The move prevents the girls being taken to Africa, the force said. | |
| The civil legislation allows officials to seize passports from people they suspect are planning on taking girls overseas for FGM. | |
| Breaching an order is a criminal offence. | |
| FGM, also termed female circumcision, refers to any procedure that alters or injures the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. | |
| It is a painful ritual carried out on women and young girls from certain communities from Africa, Asia and the Middle East. | |
| Bedfordshire Police said it is estimated that more than 20,000 girls under the age of 15 in the UK are at risk of FGM each year, although very few cases are reported. | |
| 'Child abuse' | |
| Det Ch Insp Nick Bellingham, from Bedfordshire Police's Public Protection Unit, said: "With schools breaking up for the summer holidays today, we will continue to use this legislation where needed to prevent young girls who we believe may be at risk from being taken out of the country. | |
| "This is child abuse, and we will do everything in our power to ensure that children are kept safe and that those responsible are caught." | |
| The Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and the Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation Act 2005 in Scotland states that FGM is illegal unless it is necessary for health reasons. | |
| The law states that is also illegal to arrange for a UK national to be taken overseas to undergo FGM. | |
| The order secured by Bedfordshire Police, which can be made by courts in England and Wales, was introduced under the Serious Crime Act 2015. |