Source · Select Committees · Women and Equalities Committee
Recommendation 10
10
Accepted
Mandate comprehensive FGM training for healthcare professionals, including cultural sensitivity and signposting.
Recommendation
FGM training should be made mandatory for midwives and other healthcare professionals working in services where they are likely to encounter FGM survivors. That training should include how to treat survivors with appropriate sensitivity. Staff working in FGM Specialist Clinics and Women’s Health Hubs should be able to signpost survivors to non-health related local services where necessary such as those that can offer support relating to gender-based violence, insecure housing, and language barriers. (Recommendation, Paragraph 34)
Government Response Summary
The government states that all healthcare staff must complete safeguarding training including FGM, and an FGM e-learning module is being refreshed for 2026 to ensure sensitive, trauma-informed responses and clear referral pathways. NHS England and DHSC will develop a communications plan to encourage uptake of this training.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
It is vital that all professionals with statutory safeguarding responsibilities such as the police, teachers and healthcare professionals have the right training and framework to identify victims and perpetrators of FGM and manage them effectively. The Home Office provides multi-agency statutory guidance on FGM for all professionals alongside a free e-learning module to help them identify and effectively support FGM survivors and those at risk. Healthcare All healthcare staff must complete safeguarding training which includes a focus on FGM at every level within the NHS. Safeguarding Leads within local NHS Trusts, Integrated Care Boards and GP practices are responsible for ensuring practitioners are offering appropriate advice and support, including onward referrals to specialist support services. The mandatory safeguarding training also signposts NHS staff to an e-Learning for Healthcare FGM Module, which is currently being refreshed for publication in 2026. This training will be of particular relevance for health professionals working in areas where patients affected by FGM may be seen more frequently such as General Practice, Women’s Health Hubs, Midwifery, Sexual Health and Sexual Assault Referral Centres. This updated learning has been developed by NHS England and informed by relevant Royal Colleges, clinical experts and incorporates the voice of women affected by FGM. The training provides staff with the skills to consider, recognise and discuss FGM with the women and girls they support, through six areas: • Introduction to female genital mutilation; • Communication skills for FGM consultations; • Legal and safeguarding issues regarding FGM in the UK; • Issues, presentation and management in children and young women; • Issues, presentation and management in women and around pregnancy; and • the psychological impact of FGM. Completion of this e-learning will support health professionals so they can provide sensitive and trauma-informed responses to patients who have been affected by FGM and the confidence to provide clear referral pathways for women in need of specialist FGM services. NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) will develop a communications plan to raise awareness of FGM and encourage uptake of the e-learning training among health professionals most likely to be working with patients affected by FGM. This will include dissemination through the NHS Futures Platform, Women’s Health Champions and Women’s Health Leads.