Woman jailed in a legal first for assisting in FGM

A woman has been jailed for for seven years at the Old Bailey for assisting a non-UK person to carry out female genital mutilation on a three-year-old British girl during a trip to Kenya in 2006

40 year old Amina Noor from Harrow in north-west London was found guilty last year and became the first person to be convicted of taking someone to another country for FGM.

Noor is also only the second in the UK to be convicted under the FGM Act of 2003.

The other successful prosecution was in 2019 when a Ugandan woman from Walthamstow, east London, was jailed for 11 years for cutting a three-year-old girl.

"truly horrific and abhorrent"

Mr Justice Bryan, said he hoped the victim's "bravery" would encourage others to come forward to report incidents, describing the crime as "truly horrific and abhorrent".

Noor, aged 22, travelled to the east African country with the toddler in 2006 and took her to a private house where she was subjected to FGM, also known as female circumcision or cutting.

The crime only came to light years later when the girl was 16 and confided in her English teacher at school.

When spoken to, the defendant said she thought the procedure was just an injection and afterwards the girl was "happy and able to run around and play", the court heard.

But when examined in 2019, it emerged that the girl's clitoris had been completely removed.

Noor appeared "shocked and upset" and said that was not what she thought was going to happen.

According to an initial account, Noor described going with another woman to a "clinic" where the girl was called into a room for a procedure.

The defendant said she was invited in but refused because she was "scared and worried".

Afterwards, the girl appeared quiet and cried the whole night and complained of pain, according to the account.

Jurors were told the defendant was born in Somalia and moved to Kenya at the age of eight during the civil war in her home country.

She was aged 16 when she came to the UK and was later granted British citizenship.

The defendant described what had been done to the girl as "Sunnah", meaning "tradition" or "way" in Arabic, and said it was a practice that had gone on for cultural reasons for many years.

The court was told that 94% of females of Somali origin living in Kenya undergo the procedure, according to United Nations figures.

Giving evidence in her trial, Noor said she was threatened with being "cursed" and "disowned" within her community if she did not take part.

She told jurors the threat gave her "pain", adding: "That was a pressure I had no power to do anything about."

The victim, who is now aged 21, cannot be identified for legal reasons.

Following today’s sentencing, Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy encouraged victims to come forward and seek support from police and partners.

He acknowledged the fear that some victims may have of reporting FGM and reassured victims that reports would be dealt with confidentiality, empathy and compassion.

Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy, whose team led the investigation, said

“Our mission is to prevent FGM from taking place, working with local communities and expert health partners to achieve this and safeguard vulnerable children.

“We know FGM can be a taboo subject, which is rarely discussed within families and communities – we must build trust with those impacted so we can protect victims. It’s not our job to judge and we will always remain sensitive and respectful.

“I hope today’s sentence acts as a real deterrent to those who choose to harm children in this way. Most importantly, I hope that we can use this result as an opportunity to continue to raise awareness of this topic, ensuring victims know that there is support and help out there.”

Anyone who has suffered from FGM can get help, support and advice from health professionals in the NHS, as well as from the National FGM centre.

The Dahlia Project also offers support to women who had survived FGM and work to empower communities through education to reject FGM and to raise awareness with professionals about FGM and safeguarding.

If you have concerns about the welfare of any young person, or you have information about FGM-related offending, you can call police on 101 or the NSPCC FGM Helpline on 0800 028 3550.

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