A new study, funded by Trust for London and the Home Office, has been published just ahead of the one year anniversary of the Girl Summit, which was co-hosted by the UK & UNICEF. The report provides detailed estimates of FGM prevalence for each local authority area in England & Wales. It builds on interim findings published by City University London and Equality Now in July 2014, which showed that an estimated 137,000 women & girls affected by FGM and born in countries where it is practised were permanently resident in England & Wales in 2011. These figures are estimates and should be used as a guide.
The new research combined information from surveys in 29 countries where FGM is more commonly practised (and data are available) with information from the 2011 census about women who had migrated from those countries. It found that the highest prevalence rates in the population were in London boroughs, with the highest number being 4.7% of women in Southwark and 3.9% in Brent, compared to 0.5% in England & Wales as a whole.
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