And last year’s coverage of Female Genital Mutilation may well save lives.

The UK government’s inquiry into Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), launched last month, proved a fitting end to 2013, a year that saw the issue propelled to the national spotlight.

The UK’s Home Affairs Select Committee will release the findings of this inquiry into female genital mutilation in the UK and why there has not been a single prosecution of FGM in the UK next month.

The Committee will also, among other questions, identify which groups of girls in the UK are most at risk and examine the respective roles of the police, health and education officials in putting an end to FGM.

FGM is the removal, often without anaesthetic, of external female genitalia for non-medical reasons.

It is a ritual linked to a society’s desire to control women and their sexuality that is usually performed on young girls before they reach puberty and is predominantly carried out in parts of Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

It has no health benefits for girls and women, and can result in haemorrhaging, infection or death.

Long-term consequences for women and girls include recurrent urinary tract infections and complications in childbirth and newborn death.

Members of some migrant communities in the UK continue to practise FGM, either in the UK itself or by sending girls abroad for the procedure.

And it is estimated that 66,000 women living in the UK are FGM survivors.

FGM is illegal in the UK, and has been since 1985. In 2003 it also became illegal to take a UK citizen or permanent resident abroad to have FGM.

But over 1,700 victims were referred to the UK’s specialist clinics in the last two years, and with 24,000 girls at risk of FGM in the UK, campaigners have been calling on the UK government to do much more.

The Home Affairs inquiry is a welcome move and was a fitting note on which to end the year. And while campaigners against FGM, such as Daughters of Eve or Equality Now, have long been active,  2013 saw their work propel the issue into the national spotlight.

In April, the NSPCC launched a 24-hour phoneline that offered help, advice and information to anyone who may be at risk – or suspects someone else to be at risk – of FGM.

By September, the helpline had uncovered 34 potential cases of FGM and referred them to the Metropolitan Police.

FGM also featured  for the first time on a prime-time television show. Hospital drama Casualty included a storyline about a young woman who had been a victim of FGM and wanted to save her sister from the same fate.

In November, the Royal College of Midwives, trade unions and Equality Now released a report detailing a list of recommendations for tackling FGM.

Details of the report and its recommendations have been covered here, but they included treating FGM as child abuse and empowering medical professionals to recognise and report cases of FGM.

The same month, Channel 4 screened a documentary about FGM, called ‘The Cruel Cut’, created by co-founder of Daughters of Eve, Leyla Hussein.

Hussein also launched a petition calling on the government to draw up and implement a ‘National Strategy and Action Plan to eliminate FGM in the UK’.

The petition is 6000 signatures away from being considered for debate by the Backbench Business Committee. Please sign it.

Recently, Home Affairs Minister Norman Baker announced that teachers and nurses would receive training on how to identify girls who might be at risk of FGM.

Last year saw an unprecedented amount of coverage of FGM, crucially raising awareness of the issue.

People are often unsure about how to talk about FGM and misplaced fears about appearing culturally insensitive can encourage silence. Promoting awareness and understanding of FGM helps dispel the myths and misconceptions around it.

While the government’s actions have been welcomed, more still needs to be done.

While 2013 was a year which saw many successes in the campaign to end FGM. let us hope, for the sake of those 24,000 girls currently at risk of FGM and the thousands of other girls and women who need support, that progress continues – accelerates – in 2014.