DETAILS of female genital mutilation investigations in Essex are being kept secret.

Essex Police declined to answer questions about how often it is happening to protect the victims.

Nationally numbers have increased leading Prime Minister David Cameron to demand more action from police forces to stop the practice as part of an international campaign to stop it completely.

Essex Police has not completed a single investigation or launched any criminal proceedings involving FGM since 2011 and declined to answer whether any investigations are ongoing.

A spokesman said: “Essex police must ensure identities of victims of FGM remain protected.

“If this is jeopardised, the victim can be further at risk by the perpetrator.”

FGM involves altering sexual organs for non medical reasons.

It is done to prevent the female ever being able to get pleasure from sexual activity making the organs purely functional.

A freedom of information request was sent to all police forces in the UK, by the Press Association, but many did not answer making it impossible to know how widespread the practice may be.