Female Genital Mutilation Awareness for Care and Health Staff in Ireland

This guide covers Ireland. For the UK equivalent, see our guide: FGM Awareness Training for Care and Healthcare Staff: Legal Duties and Warning Signs.

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a criminal offence in Ireland, and it is both a child protection issue for girls and a health issue for women who have already experienced it. Staff in care and health settings may meet either situation. This guide sets out what the Criminal Justice (Female Genital Mutilation) Act 2012 says, what the HSE says about the free FGM treatment service, and the child protection routes named in the Irish sources. For wider safeguarding context, see our guide to safeguarding vulnerable adults training in Ireland.

The guide is awareness information for staff, managers and HR teams in Dublin and nationally. It is not legal advice, and it does not replace your own service's policies, which you should always follow.

What FGM is, according to the HSE

The HSE describes FGM as a procedure in which the female genitals are deliberately cut or changed with no medical reason. It is also called female circumcision or cutting. The HSE says it is usually carried out on girls from infancy to age 15, often before puberty, and that it is often done by traditional cutters, typically without anaesthetic or antiseptic.

The HSE page lists these types:

• Type 1: removal of all or part of the clitoris.
• Type 2: removal of all or part of the clitoris and inner labia, with or without the outer labia.
• Type 3: narrowing of the vaginal opening by cutting and repositioning the labia.
• Other harmful procedures: pricking, piercing, cutting, scraping or burning the genital area.

The health effects the HSE lists include constant pain, repeated infections, bleeding, cysts and abscesses, problems passing urine, psychological effects such as flashbacks, depression and anxiety, and childbirth complications that can be life-threatening for mother and baby. The HSE page says that some girls die from blood loss or infection. It also notes that FGM usually affects girls whose mothers, grandmothers or extended female relatives have had it.

What the Criminal Justice (Female Genital Mutilation) Act 2012 says

The Act is available on the Irish Statute Book. Its main provisions, by section, are as follows.

• Section 1: defines female genital mutilation as any act the purpose or effect of which is the excision, infibulation or other mutilation of the whole or any part of the labia majora, labia minora, prepuce of the clitoris, clitoris or vagina of a girl or woman. It does not define "girl".
• Section 2: makes it an offence to do or attempt to do an act of FGM. The exceptions are: a surgical operation by a registered medical practitioner that is necessary for the protection of the person's physical or mental health; certain operations by a registered medical practitioner, midwife or trainee midwife during labour or just after birth; the girl or woman herself; and, for a woman aged 18 or over, an act that causes no permanent bodily harm.
• Consent and custom are not defences. Section 2(3) says it is no defence that the accused believed the girl, her parents or guardian, or the woman consented, or that the act was required or permitted for customary or ritual reasons.
• Section 3: makes it an offence to remove, or attempt to remove, a girl or woman from the State where one purpose is to have FGM done abroad. "Removal" includes arranging or accompanying travel.
• Section 4: applies in limited cases to acts done outside the State: on an Irish ship or an aircraft registered in the State, or by an Irish citizen or a person ordinarily resident in the State (principal residence there for the 12 months before the offence). The act must also be an offence where it was done.
• Section 5 (penalties): on summary conviction, a fine, up to 12 months' imprisonment, or both. On conviction on indictment, a fine, up to 14 years' imprisonment, or both.
• Sections 6 to 9: proceedings may be brought only by, or with the consent of, the Director of Public Prosecutions (section 6); a person acquitted or convicted abroad of an act cannot be prosecuted under the Act for the same act (section 7); the court must exclude the public from proceedings for these offences apart from listed exceptions, though the verdict and any sentence are announced in public (section 8); and after a charge, matter likely to identify the girl or woman cannot be published unless a court directs otherwise (section 9).

The HSE page puts it in plain terms: FGM is illegal in Ireland and is child abuse, it is illegal to take a girl out of Ireland to have her genitals mutilated abroad, and anyone facilitating FGM can be jailed.

The HSE FGM treatment service

The HSE's public pages describe a free FGM treatment service run by the Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA) in Dublin city centre. In a reply to parliamentary questions dated 25 November 2025, the HSE calls it the national FGM treatment service and says it is funded by the HSE. The service pages and the reply say it offers specialised medical care, psychological support, sexual and reproductive health care and counselling, free of charge.

• Who can use it: women and girls in Ireland who have had FGM. Anyone living in Ireland can make an appointment, and no GP referral is needed.
• Where: IFPA Dublin City Centre Clinic, 5/7 Cathal Brugha Street, Dublin 1.
• Contact: freephone 01 872 7088, or the confidential line 085 877 1342 (phone or text).
• Other support: the HSE also points to Akidwa, a national network of migrant women in Ireland (01 834 9851, info@akidwa.ie), and to HSE Live on 1800 700 700.

The HSE pregnancy page advises anyone who has had FGM to talk to their GP, midwife or obstetrician as early as possible in pregnancy, even if FGM has not caused problems, so that care and the safest delivery plan can be arranged. The HSE reply of 25 November 2025 says the HSE increased its funding to the IFPA by about €150,000 in 2025, including for an initiative to reduce waiting times.

What the national clinical guideline says for health professionals

The National Clinical Guideline on the Management of Female Genital Mutilation, produced by the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists at the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland and the HSE, is aimed at healthcare professionals in HSE-funded obstetric and gynaecological services. Its revision history lists version 1.0 as dated 7 February 2019, and it gives no review date. Among its points:

• Women should be asked about FGM at the booking visit, supportively and without judgment, using a formal translation service if needed.
• The type of FGM should be recorded in the maternal healthcare record.
• Where there is a concern about a woman's female children and the risk of FGM, a senior midwife or obstetrician should assess it and, where appropriate, make a referral to Tusla under the Children First legislation.
• The guideline cites the Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012, which it says makes it an offence to withhold information from the Gardaí if you know or believe an offence has been committed against a child.

The guideline does not cover managing FGM in children, which it says a paediatrician should handle. Staff in other settings, such as residential care or home support, should follow their own service's procedures and consult the guideline only as background.

Reporting and child protection routes

The HSE page says that if you are worried a girl is at risk of FGM, you can contact your local Garda station or your local duty social worker in Tusla. The HSE adds that health professionals caring for a patient under 18 who has had FGM have professional responsibilities to safeguard and protect her. The Department of Justice press release on FGM awareness at Dublin Airport (published 27 October 2023, last updated 12 April 2025) lists the Garda Confidential Line, 1800 666 111, and the Child Abuse Reporting Line, 1800 555 222. In it, the Garda Commissioner urges anyone who suspects a child is at risk of FGM, in Ireland or abroad, to contact the authorities.

Tusla's guidance says a concern about a child can be reported in person, by telephone or in writing to the local social work duty service where the child lives. You can contact Tusla to discuss a concern informally first, and reports can be anonymous, though that may make the concern harder to assess. Tusla's page on mandated reports says mandated persons must report any knowledge, belief or reasonable suspicion that a child has been, is being or is at risk of being harmed, where the harm seriously affects, or is likely to seriously affect, the child's health, development or welfare, and that all sexual abuse concerns must be reported. The page lists neglect, emotional abuse, physical abuse and sexual abuse, and does not mention FGM by name. The Department of Justice press release says FGM is classed as child abuse under the Children First National Guidance (2011). Staff should therefore check their service's own Children First policy to see how it applies.

What care and support staff can do

Our suggestion: treat FGM as a safeguarding matter and follow the same steps you would for any child protection concern.

• Do not examine a girl, question her family, or confront anyone. Pass the concern to your designated safeguarding contact, or follow your service's policy.
• Write down factual details: what was said or seen, when, and who was told. Avoid assumptions about a family's origin or culture.
• If a girl appears to be in immediate danger, contact the Gardaí (999 or 112 in an emergency).
• Where a woman discloses that she has had FGM, listen without judgment, use an interpreter where needed, and let her know the free treatment service exists. The choice to attend is hers.
• If you raise a concern and feel it is not being acted on, our guide to the Protected Disclosures Act for healthcare employers explains the wider framework.

Services should also be able to show that staff know how to respond. Our guide to HIQA inspections and staff training covers how training records are generally used in inspections. Check the current requirements for your service, as we have not identified a specific FGM training requirement for care staff.

Learnsignal's offices are off Baggot Street in Dublin, and we offer in-person training from there. For current details, see our CPD pages.

Frequently asked questions

Is FGM against the law if it is done outside Ireland?

Section 3 of the 2012 Act makes it an offence to remove a girl or woman from the State where one purpose is to have FGM done abroad. Section 4 extends liability to acts abroad by an Irish citizen or a person ordinarily resident in the State, where the act is also an offence in the place it was done.

Does a woman need a GP referral for the treatment service?

No. The HSE says no GP referral is needed and anyone living in Ireland can make an appointment with the IFPA service. The clinical guideline also notes that women may self-refer to the IFPA service, and may ask their GP for a specialist referral for deinfibulation.

Who do I contact if I think a girl is at risk?

The HSE names your local Garda station and your local duty social worker in Tusla. The Garda Confidential Line, 1800 666 111, and the Child Abuse Reporting Line, 1800 555 222, are listed by the Department of Justice. In an emergency, call 999 or 112.

Can parental consent make FGM lawful?

No. Section 2(3) of the 2012 Act says it is no defence that the girl's parents or guardian consented, or that the act was required or permitted for customary or ritual reasons.

Awareness, a calm response and the right contacts are what matter most. Know your service's procedure before you need it.