London schoolgirls should be taught in the classroom about the brutality of female genital mutilation, a peer said today.
Baroness Lynne Featherstone has written to Theresa May and Justine Greening, the Education Secretary, asking them to allow teachers or volunteers to educate girls.
The former Liberal Democrat Home Office minister said: “Girls in London are some of the most at risk of harm and it is appalling that thousands from all corners of the city continue to suffer from this barbaric practice.
"We must ensure that the younger generation knows that FGM is unacceptable and that there is help available.”
Her letter was sent as latest figures from the Health and Social Care Information Centre revealed that of the 5,700 newly recorded cases in the UK between 2015 and 2016, 2,940 were in London.
Women and girls born in Somalia accounted for 810 new cases, while girls aged five to nine years old were the most common age group.
In her letter to Mrs May, Baroness Featherstone said: “I remember only too well, Theresa, you berating Michael Gove, then Secretary of State for Education, for not allowing girls to be taught about FGM at school.
"Without any information we abandon girls to their fate. We agreed it should be taught in schools — whether by teachers or community volunteers."
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