Laws protecting girls from genital mutilation remain unimplemented despite being passed five years ago – with more than 1,200 women treated in Glasgow in that timeframe.
Scottish ministers have been warned a repeated failure to enforce the legislation is a ‘betrayal’ to women and girls.
Female genital mutilation (FMG) has been illegal in the UK since 1985 but a law to strengthen protections for women passed in Holyrood in April 2020.
The Female Genital Mutilation Protection Act intends to grant courts the power to issue protection orders to safeguard women and girls who may be under pressure to undergo the procedure.
It was passed by every party in Holyrood. However, Scottish ministers have confirmed the Act has still not been implemented five years on.
A total of 1,219 women received treatment from NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde between 2019 and June 2025, figures obtained by the Scottish Conservatives have revealed.
FGM is an illegal practice that involves partially or fully cutting off the external female genitals.
Many cultures carry out the harmful act on girls under the belief that it improves the marriage prospects of women. But the procedure can have long-lasting physical and mental consequences.
READ NEXT:
- Susan Aitken tells how Glasgow would create jobs and housing with devolved power
- British Jewish leaders intervene over 'divisive' Scotland-Palestine flags
- Mum demands child diabetes screening after five-year-old's near-death
- 'Glasgow city centre's decline didn’t happen overnight — neither will its recovery'
In Glasgow, 57 women received deinfibulation surgery – reconstruction – from the health board since 2019, with a further 1,157 undergoing another form of treatment, varying from operations to counselling.
In the first six months of 2025, seven women received deinfibulation surgery. If that trend continues in the latter half of the year, it will be a record high.
Annie Wells, the women’s health spokeswoman for the Scottish Tories, said: “Female genital mutilation is barbaric and needs to be wiped out once and for all.
“These shocking figures show that there is still a lot more to do in Glasgow alone.
“It is unacceptable that the Female Genital Mutilation Act is still not in force despite being voted for by all parties in the Scottish Parliament over five years ago.
“The Scottish Government needs to finally bring in this Act, protect women, and crack down on this vile practice.”
The Scottish Government confirmed it is still working to implement all provisions of the Act, including the court rules, statutory guidance and training and awareness aspects of the legislation, with documentation still in its “draft” stage.
Equalities minister Kaukab Stewart said the Scottish Government was “resolute” in its commitment to implementing the legislation.
She said: “Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is an abhorrent practice and I am of course concerned by these figures.
“We are resolute in our commitment to implementing this legislation and are working closely with stakeholders – including Police Scotland, the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service, local authorities, health representatives, and our Scottish minority ethnic women’s network – to ensure the effective delivery of the Female Mutilation (Protection and Guidance) (Scotland) Act.
“Through the Delivering Equally Safe fund, we are investing in projects with a specific FGM focus to raise awareness, and our aim is to have the Act fully implemented within 2026.”
Under the 2020 legislation, courts are supposed to have the power to request that the victim of FGM is taken to a safe place, protected from threats and harassment and to prevent them from being taken abroad for the procedure.
The protection orders could be requested from the court, by a woman or girl at risk or who has experienced FGM, local authorities and the police.
It also creates guidance for public authorities to spot the signs or those at risk of FGM.
Prior to the Bill passing through Holyrood, Scottish ministers listed February 2021 as its earliest possible commencement.
Since 2005, there has been just six offences recorded under FGM by Police Scotland. One was record in 2019 and two in 2020.
Another two were ‘detected’ and a further recorded between 2021 and 2022.
FGM is significantly under-reported, however at least 138 women were detected as victims by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde in 2017and 2018.
In NHS Lothian, which covers Edinburgh, 93 women were believed to have been subjected to FGM.
And between 1997 and 2011, 2,403 girls were born in Scotland to a mother from an FGM-practicing country, data from the Scottish Government showed.
Figures from the United Nations suggest one in 20 women and girls in the world have undergone some form of FGM.
Share