The Supreme Court prioritises substance over form in protecting the welfare of children in an immigration context. Explicit reference to guidance is neither sufficient nor necessary – UK Human Rights Blog

‘In their co-authored judgment, Lord Sales and Dame Siobhan Keegan provide a rich analysis of how the courts should consider the welfare of children in an immigration context. In doing so, they clarify the meaning and effect of Section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009 (“Section 55”) and its interaction with Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (“Article 8”). The judgment provides a guide for how the appellate courts should assess decision-making by the Secretary of State, her officials, and the First-tier Tribunal.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 15th November 2024

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Orders protecting against risk of FGM should be “focused, targeted and proportionate” to specific risks established, says High Court judge – Local Government Lawyer

Posted November 12th, 2024 in families, female genital mutilation, local government, news, proportionality by tracey

‘The High Court has discharged a Prohibited Steps Order (PSO) made to protect a now teenage girl against the risks of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), after finding “no evidence” of an ongoing risk of FGM to the girl, and finding that the order continued to have a “profound impact on her competing rights and freedoms”.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 11th November 2024

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Man convicted in ‘landmark’ FGM conspiracy case – BBC News

Posted September 10th, 2024 in conspiracy, female genital mutilation, news, prosecutions by tracey

‘A former PhD student has been found guilty of conspiring to commit female genital mutilation (FGM) in what has been described as a “landmark case”.’

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BBC News, 9th September 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Honour based abuse: perspectives and challenges – Local Government Lawyer

‘Imran Khodabocus looks at some of the common misconceptions that surround honour based abuse and discusses why a legal definition is long overdue.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 3rd May 2024

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Woman jailed for seven years for handing over girl, 3, for female genital mutilation – The Independent

Posted February 19th, 2024 in child cruelty, children, female genital mutilation, imprisonment, news, sentencing by tracey

‘A British woman has been jailed for seven years in a legal first after she was found guilty of handing over a three-year-old who was subjected to female genital mutilation.’

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The Independent, 17th February 2024

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Woman convicted of taking British girl, three, for female genital mutilation in Kenya – The Guardian

Posted October 27th, 2023 in children, female genital mutilation, news, women by sally

‘A woman has been found guilty of handing over a three-year-old British girl for female genital mutilation (FGM) during a trip to Kenya, in the first conviction of its kind.’

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The Guardian, 26th October 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Better support needed to prevent honour-based abuse remaining hidden crime – MPs – The Independent

‘Honour-based abuse should have a statutory definition in a similar way to domestic abuse, MPs said, as they warned it risks remaining a hidden crime without better victim support.’

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The Independent, 19th July 2023

Source: www.independent.co.uk

So-called honour-based abuse inquiry launched – Family Law

‘The Women and Equalities Committee launch an inquiry into so-called honour-based abuse, as part of its work on preventing violence against women and girls.’

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Family Law, 21st November 2022

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

The Husband’s Stitch: A Violation of Patients’ Bodily Autonomy – Oxford Human Rights Hub

Posted March 21st, 2022 in birth, doctors, families, female genital mutilation, medical treatment, news by sally

‘The ‘husband’s stitch’ is the practice of placing an extra stitch at the vaginal opening of a patient after birth for cosmetic purposes. This practice has at times been inflicted upon birthing patients non-consensually, and a gap in British legislation leaves these individuals particularly vulnerable to obstetric violence.’

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Oxford Human Rights Hub, 9th March 2022

Source: ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk

‘Honour-based’ offences soared by 81% in last five years – The Guardian

‘The number of “honour-based” abuse (HBA) offences recorded by English police forces has soared over the past five years, figures suggest. According to data from the 28 out of 39 constabularies that responded to freedom of information (FoI) requests, the number of HBA cases – including offences such as rape, death threats and assault – rose from 884 in 2016 to 1,599 last year, a rise of 81%.’

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The Guardian, 31st October 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Government’s ‘virginity test’ ban is ‘false victory’ as it does not prohibit hymen surgery, campaigners warn – The Independent

Posted August 16th, 2021 in bills, female genital mutilation, forced marriages, news by tracey

‘The government’s decision to ban so-called virginity tests is a “false victory” as it does not prohibit hymenoplasty surgery, experts have warned.’

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The Independent, 15th August 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

UK’s FGM safeguarding policies undermining welfare, study warns – The Guardian

‘Safeguarding policies introduced to protect women and girls against female genital mutilation (FGM) are instead eroding trust and alienating African diaspora communities, a study has found.’

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The Guardian, 4th February 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Fears honour-based abuse could go undetected due to ‘short-sighted’ government plans to scrap term – The Independent

‘Ministers are considering dropping references to honour-based abuse in the recording of crimes such as forced marriage, coercive control and female genital mutilation, raising concerns offences could go undetected.’

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The Independent, 6th January 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Police accused of not taking honour-based abuse seriously as figures reveal 64% fall in recorded offences – The Independent

‘Police have been accused of not taking honour-based abuse seriously as new figures reveal a 64 per cent fall in the number of offences recorded.’

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The Independent, 17th December 2020

Source: www.independent.co.uk

FGM protection order in child’s best interests – Court of Appeal – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted July 14th, 2020 in children, family courts, female genital mutilation, jurisdiction, news by tracey

‘A (A Child) (Rev 1) [2020] EWCA 731 (15 June 2020). This was an appeal by the secretary of state against a decision of the President of the Family Division concerning the exercise of the family court’s jurisdiction to make a female genital mutilation protection order (FGMPO) under the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 Sch.2 Pt 1 para.1.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 13th July 2020

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Pressure mounts on Priti Patel over case of 11-year-old at risk of FGM – The Guardian

‘Barristers, former judges, politicians and campaigners are among 300 people who have signed an open letter to the home secretary, Priti Patel, urging her to grant asylum to an 11-year-old girl at high risk of female genital mutilation if taken abroad.’

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The Guardian, 10th July 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

The unprecedented case of a third fact finding hearing – Garden Court Chambers

Posted March 3rd, 2020 in children, evidence, female genital mutilation, news, police, retrials by sally

‘The case concerns the following tragic background. A 10-year-old girl, S was found dead in her bedroom. She died of strangulation and suffered recent injuries to her genital area.’

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Garden Court Chambers, 20th February 2020

Source: www.gardencourtchambers.co.uk

UK Somalis ‘racially profiled’ over FGM – BBC News

Posted January 14th, 2020 in female genital mutilation, news, race discrimination by sally

‘Parents are wrongly being arrested and having their children taken into care due to the stigma around female genital mutilation (FGM), members of the UK Somali community have told the Victoria Derbyshire programme. They say figures suggesting tens of thousands of girls are at risk in the UK are inaccurate.’

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BBC News, 13th January 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Thousands of children abused over witchcraft beliefs as number of known victims rockets by a third – The Independent

Posted November 14th, 2019 in child abuse, female genital mutilation, news, witchcraft by tracey

‘The number of children known to have been abused in England over beliefs in witchcraft and possession has risen by a third in two years, figures show.’

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The Independent, 14th November 2019

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Judicial review challenge on health inequalities caused by NHS Charging Scheme for migrant women and their children – Garden Court Chambers

‘Judicial review proceedings have been launched on behalf of Maternity Action, a leading maternity rights charity, challenging the Secretary of State for Health’s NHS Charging Regime. The disproportionate effect of charging is most stark amongst destitute pregnant women, new mothers, survivors of domestic abuse, sexual violence and Female Genital Mutilation and destitute migrant families supported by local authorities, who are overwhelmingly women.’

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Garden Court Chambers, 15th October 2019

Source: www.gardencourtchambers.co.uk