Female Genital Mutilation Protection Orders (FGMPO)

You can apply for an FGMPO if you have been subjected to FGM/C or you feel you may be pressured or forced into FGM/C. The FGM/C does not have to have occurred for you to gain protection.

An FGMPO is a court order containing provisions that can restrict a person’s actions or require them to take certain steps in order to protect you from abuse and to stop the person making arrangements for FGM/C. This could mean that the order is made against one person or many people who are involved in arranging the procedure.

An order can be made against any person in the UK or outside, who is, may be or has been, involved in the FGM/C in any way. This could be your mother, father, husband or other close family member; or someone who you do not know but is involved in arranging or encouraging the crime.

The person’s involvement in the procedure does not have to involve them physically abusing or threatening you or involve any other type of abuse. The order could be made against a person who is encouraging or advising about the FGM/C or making practical arrangements such as booking flights to take you to another country for the purpose of FGM/C.

The order can include anything the judge at court feels is necessary to protect the girl/woman from FGM/C. This could include:

• Asking for the parents and/or girl to be worked with to educate them about FGM and how to keep safe.
  
  
• Asking that the girl has supervised/restricted contact with people who have been identified as a risk.
  
  
• Removing the girl’s passport so she can't be taken out of the country.

Here are some examples of what the FGMPO might say:

1. The Respondent must not take the Applicant out of the London area.
   
   
2. The Respondent must not harass, pester or molest the Applicant, directly or indirectly.
   
   
3. The Respondent must halt any arrangements for the procedure of female genital cutting to be carried out on the Applicant
   
   
4. The Respondent must not arrange for any medical or surgical procedures to be carried out on the Applicant’s person

The person making the application is called the Applicant. The person the FGMPO order is made against is called the Respondent.

You can request that the order be reviewed by the court at intervals to see if it is still needed. If the judge feels it is no longer need, it can be removed.

An FGM Protection Order can be used alongside other court orders such as Emergency Protection Orders and Restraining Orders

FGM001 which is available from any court or to download from the Ministry of Justice’s website. If you are seeking an order to protect someone else (and you are not a local authority) you must first get the court’s permission using form FGM006 on Ministry of Justice’s website. If you are seeking an order to protect someone else (and you are not a local authority) you must first get the court’s permission using form FGM006.

The person who is applying has to fill out a form explaining:

• why they feel a girl/woman is a risk of FGM/C
  
  
• what needs to happen to keep the girl/woman safe including preventing her from traveling or stopping someone from seeing her alone.

If the judge agrees you need a protection order, they’ll decide whether to give you a permanent or temporary order. They might ask you to provide more information before they make a decision.

There is no court fee for applying for an FGMPO. You may be entitled to legal aid for your solicitor’s costs. For more information see A Guide to Family Law Legal Aid.

Your family will find out about your application for an FGMPO, but they might not know until after you get the order.

You or your solicitor can start the application for an FGMPO without telling your family. This is called a ‘without notice’ application. If the without notice FGMPO is made, you will have protection before your family know that you have made the application.

I am concerned that someone I know is going to be subjected to FGM/C, can I apply for a female genital mutilation protection order to protect this person?

A friend, relative or someone else can make an application for an FGMPO. As you are making the application about someone else, you will have to ask for the court’s permission first using application form FGM006 and set out your relationship with the victim.

For example, if it is your sister you should state this and provide any proof in support. If it is your friend or your girlfriend you should explain how long you have known the victim and provide any evidence you have to show this.

Your application will need to set out your knowledge of the circumstances of your friend or relative’s situation and the court will also consider what she thinks about the application, if her wishes can be determined. If the court grants permission then the application can be made on form FGM001 for an FGMPO to protect her.

If you are not able to make the application yourself (for example if you cannot leave the house or access the courts, or are in another country, or you are too frightened) then someone else can make the application.

Someone else making the application means it is not being made by you, but it is being made to protect you, which might make it easier for you to take steps to protect yourself without it coming directly from you. As FGM/C often involves parents and other family members it can be difficult for you to make the application in your own name and it might not be safe or possible for you to do so.

The person who is making the application, for example, you, your solicitor, social services or someone supporting a victim, is responsible for serving the FGMPO on the perpetrator. This means giving the respondent a copy and it should be done using a process server or the

court bailiff. You can ask the court to arrange for the court bailiff to personally serve the FGMPO on the respondent. The court will charge a fee for this service.

If you cannot afford to pay the fee, you may be eligible for a fee remission (i.e. you may not have to pay the fee). To find out more about fee remissions, download the EX160A from the HMCTS website (the court website).

The respondent must know about the FGMPO to be responsible for breaching any part of it. A copy should also be sent to your local police station, which you can find at www.police.uk

It is a criminal offence to breach (break/disobey) any part of an FGMPO and you can call the police if any part of the order is ignored or not complied with. For example, if the order states that the perpetrator is not allowed to text you and you receive a text from them, this is a criminal offence, or if the perpetrator is ordered to make a child survivor of FGM/C available for medical treatment, but fails to do so, this is a criminal offence. If your perpetrator is found guilty of breaching the FGMPO there are a range of sentences that they could receive. The maximum sentence is 5 years imprisonment, or they may be fined, or both.