Women with vaginal piercings to be classed as having suffered female genital mutilation

Women with vaginal piercings are to be classed as victims of female genital mutilation (FGM), health chiefs have said.

 

Under new NHS rules to be introduced next month, any woman whose labia or clitoris has been pierced must be recorded as suffering FGM, a procedure which is illegal in the UK. 

 

The mandatory reporting regulations were sent to medical staff by the Department of Health, which said it is would start classifying the piercings 'within an abusive context'.

 

It means that even women who have consented to the piercing for cosmetic reasons will be deemed as a potential victim of crime. Those responsible for carrying out the piercing could also be implicated for committing a criminal offence.

 

The new rules are in line with guidance from the World Health Organisation, which last year classified piercing as 'harmful procedures' that are considered under the bracket of FGM.

 

There is already much debate about whether genital surgery procedures such as so-called 'designer vagina' operations should be treated by as FGM.