Women with vaginal piercings are to be classed as victims of female genital mutilation ( FGM ) , health chiefs have said . Women with vaginal piercings are to be classed as victims of female genital mutilation ( FGM ) , health chiefs have said . Under new NHS rules to be introduced next month , any woman whose labia or clitoris has been pierced must be recorded as suffering FGM , a procedure which is illegal in the UK . The mandatory reporting regulations were sent to medical staff by the Department of Health , which said it is would start classifying the piercings 'within an abusive context ' . It means that even women who have consented to the piercing for cosmetic reasons will be deemed as a potential victim of crime . Those responsible for carrying out the piercing could also be implicated for committing a criminal offence . The new rules are in line with guidance from the World Health Organisation , which last year classified piercing as 'harmful procedures ' that are considered under the bracket of FGM . There is already much debate about whether genital surgery procedures such as so-called 'designer vagina ' operations should be treated by as FGM . Last week , MPs released a report which said police , midwives and campaigners remain confused over whether the operations fall within FGM laws . Under the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 , it is illegal to cut girls ' genitals unless there is a genuine justification . The exemptions in the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 refer to operations carried out on the grounds of physical or mental health and do not cover cosmetic surgery . The Home Affairs Select Committee said the act should be amended to reiterate that female genital cosmetic surgery on those who do not have a physical or mental health justification is potentially illegal . The Government has previously said it has no plans to make these changes . Some 170,000 women and girls are estimated to be living with FGM in the UK . More than 2,600 women and girls who went through FGM have been treated by the NHS since last September , with 499 women and girls with FGM seen in acute NHS trusts in England in January alone . More than 200 FGM-related cases were investigated by the police nationally in the past five years . A Department of Health man said : 'While there are challenges in this area and adult women may have genital piercings , in some communities girls are forced to have them . The World Health Organisation has quite rightly defined this as a form of FGM . 'We are taking every precaution to record genital piercings that have been done within an abusive context . 'The new data collection will help build a picture of the scale and the nature of the problem we are facing . We are continually working on ways to improve and develop the NHS response to this terrible practice . '
New NHS rules will apply to any woman whose labia or clitoris is pierced . Even women who consented to piercing will be potential victims of crime . Mandatory reporting regulations sent to medics by Government chiefs . Rules in line with guidance issued last year by World Health Organisation . FGM illegal in England BUT critics say laws around 'designer vagina ' surgery are ambiguous .