Professionals ‘still concerned about tackling honour-based violence’

By The Press Association23rd March 2016News EnglandChild Abuse, Child Protection, Female Genital Mutilation, News England

Professionals are still concerned about tackling so-called honour-based violence because of “cultural sensitivities”, a Home Office Minister has admitted.

Karen Bradley said “certain professionals” still do not have the confidence to question harmful child abuse happening in the UK.

She raised the concerns during a House of Commons debate on breast ironing, a practice which originated in Cameroon but is now believed to have affected up to 1,000 girls in Britain.

Breast ironing uses hot objects heated on a stove to pound and massage girls’ breasts during puberty to retard their growth, in the belief it will make the girls less sexually attractive.

Questioned on the role of schools in tackling harmful practices such as female genital mutilation and breast ironing, the Minister (pictured) said: “I know there are certain professionals who may feel reticent about this.

“They may feel that somehow there are cultural sensitivities, there are political reasons why they shouldn’t go there.

“This is simply not the case and we need to give those professionals the confidence to know that this is something that they should be looking for, that they know what the signs are and that they take action because that is what we all need to do.”

She added that the CPS achieved a record 129 convictions for offences involving honour-based violence in 2014/2015, but that a recent report from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary raised some “serious concerns” of the police handling of the issues.

Tory Jake Berry, who led the House of Commons debate, said 23% of local children’s services in the UK are not trained to deal with the “hidden crime” of breast ironing while 65% would welcome the opportunity for more guidance.

Freedom of Information requests carried out by the MP also found 15% of police forces had no awareness of the practice.

He urged the Government to tackle breast ironing with specific new legislation in the same way it has done with FGM.

He said: “The police and local authorities by their own admission need further training in dealing with this practice and bringing these crimes to prosecution.

“If we fail to let them have the tools they require to identify and understand the victims of this crime, we will never be able to tackle it.

“My understanding is that there is currently no standalone crime of breast ironing in the UK, with police and prosecutors relying on the existing pool of criminal offences available to them.

“Just like with FGM, this, I do not believe, is not an adequate protection for young women and girls in our country.”

He also called for the Government to launch a prevalence report into the practice after pressure group CAME reported up to 1,000 girls have had their breasts mutilated in Britain, including in London and Birmingham.

Ms Bradley said that the police already have a range of offences at their disposal to deal with the crime, including common assault, child cruelty and Grievous Bodily Harm.

She added: “What we’re talking about is child abuse, it is illegal, it is a crime, it is not acceptable and I want to assure the house that Government fully understands this and is absolutely committed to putting a stop to it.”