FTAO AOG
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A new Section 3A offence of failing to protect a girl under the age of 16 from risk of FGM is introduced into the 2003 Act. A person is liable for the offence if they are responsible for a girl at the time when an offence is committed against her and when FGM has actually occurred.
The term "responsible" covers two classes of person: first, a person who has 'parental responsibility' for the girl and has 'frequent contact' with her, and, second, any adult who has assumed responsibility for caring for the girl in the manner of a parent, for example, grandparents who might be caring for the girl during the school holidays.
There are two possible defences: the first is that the defendant did not think that there was a significant risk of the girl being subjected to FGM and could not reasonably have been expected to be aware that there was any such risk. The second defence is that the defendant took reasonable steps to protect the girl from being the victim of FGM. The defendant will have to adduce sufficient evidence for the matter to be considered by the jury; it would then be for the prosecution to demonstrate to the criminal standard of proof, namely beyond reasonable doubt, that the defence had not been made out. We envisage that this provision may lead to more difficult prosecutions given the wide parameters of the two defences. //