Malta has the highest proportion of female refugees from countries where genital mutilation takes place but it is one of the last EU member states to have a specific law against the practice, according to the Commissioner for Refugees.

Winding up his Private Member’s Bill to make FGM and forced marriages a criminal offence, Labour MP Chris Fearne said this law was not enough. Guidelines, educational campaigns and robust prevention polices were required to better protect those at risk.

He was pleased that both sides of the House had agreed that this would give further protection to girls and women.

He said NGOs who worked with refugees needed support because of language as well as cultural barriers, and stressed the need for cultural facilitators and interpreters in the field.

Doctors and midwives also required specific training and clear guidelines because they were in constant contact with expectant women who had been through FGM and sometimes they asked to be sewed up again after giving birth. Members of the police force who dealt with refugees also re-quired guidance. Dr Fearne said that within these African communities there was pressure from relatives for FGM to be carried out, and this was where the authorities needed to focus their attention.

Those who had already been through FGM required psychological and medical help because FGM was nothing less than child abuse and a criminal act. One also needed to carry out research to gauge the extent of this practice in Malta in order to put in place the necessary policies.

FGM was not wrong because it came from a different culture but because it was intrinsically wrong, he concluded.

The Bill was unanimously approved.