Passport seized

A COURT has confiscated the passport of a 17-monthold girl in a bid to prevent her parents from subjecting her to female genital mutilation (FGM).

The mother of the child tried to get the procedure performed in Spain and also stated that she would ‘do it herself’, police said.

Healthcare staff activated a prevention protocol that included informing the parents that FGM was a crime in Spain. When the family missed medical visits and meetings with social workers, the police were informed.

A court subsequently ordered the young girl’s passport to be seized given the risk that the family would travel to Sierra Leone, her mother’s country of origin.

The case is currently in the hands of the social services. The child’s passport will be held until she is 18 years old.