| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Long title | An Act to restate and amend the law relating to female genital mutilation; and for connected purposes. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 2003 c. 31 |
| Introduced by | Ruth Rendell |
| Territorial extent | England and Wales; Northern Ireland |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 30 October 2003 |
| Commencement | 3 March 2004[1] |
| Other legislation | |
| Repeals/revokes | Prohibition of Female Circumcision Act 1985 |
| Amended by | Serious Crime Act 2015 |
| Relates to | Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation (Scotland) Act 2005 |
Status: Amended | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Revised text of statute as amended | |
The Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 (c. 31) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom applying to England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It replaced the Prohibition of Female Circumcision Act 1985, extending the ban on female genital mutilation to address the practice of taking girls abroad to undergo FGM procedures, and increased the maximum penalty from 5 to 14 years' imprisonment.[2] The Act does not extend to Scotland: the corresponding legislation there is the Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation (Scotland) Act 2005.
Experts said in 2003 that about 74,000 women in the UK had been subjected to the procedure, and that up to 7,000 girls would be at risk of being subjected to it abroad,[3] and on 14 July of that year the proposed new law was introduced by the Labour peer Ruth Rendell as House of Lords Bill 98.[4]
- ^ Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 (Commencement) Order 2004
- ^ "FGM: More than 5,000 new cases in England". BBC News. 22 April 2017. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
- ^ "Female circumcision act in force". BBC News Online. 3 March 2004.
- ^ parliament.uk: HL/PO/JO/10/16/41/1806 "A bill to restate and amend the law relating to female genital mutilation" (HL Bill 98)