Girls at risk of genital
mutilation are not being helped as their teachers lack training in how
to deal with this type of child abuse, warns the NSPCC.
The charity is urging schools to treat female genital mutilation as they would other forms of child abuse.
"Teachers are on the front line", said Lisa Harker, NSPCC head of strategy.
Some 20,000 girls in England and Wales are thought to be at
risk of this illegal practice, according to government figures, but
there are fears that this figure masks a larger problem.
In March, a study by midwives revealed more than 100 victims in Bristol alone over a single nine-month period.
The NSPCC says the practice has no medical benefits but is motivated
by cultural beliefs about preparing a girl for adulthood and marriage by
making her "clean, chaste and faithful". The charity describes it as being potentially life-threatening and sometimes carried out without anaesthetic.
The government says teachers have a key role in spotting children who may be at risk of or who have undergone genital cutting. In January, the schools watchdog, Ofsted, announced it would
be including schools' safeguarding arrangements on female genital
mutilation in inspections.
Updated Ofsted guidance says that key staff should be able to
show how alert they are to "possible signs that a child has been
subject to female genital mutilation or is at risk of being abused
through it".
However, some 83% of teachers in England and Wales said they
had not had child protection training in this area, according to a
survey for the NSPCC.
The YouGov poll of over 1,000 teachers also suggested that
some 68% were unaware of government guidance on schools policy on this
form of abuse.
You can read more on this story on the BBC News website here.
The NSPCC's Policy summary on Female Genital Multilation is available to read here.
