The government is to legally oblige doctors, social workers and teachers to report female genital mutilation (FGM) if they see it, the prime minister has said.
Speaking at the Girl Summit – a major international conference in London designed to highlight the issues of FGM and child marriage – David Cameron also said parents would be criminalised if they failed to protect their children from the practice.
"What we are trying to achieve is such a simple and noble and good ambition, which is to outlaw the practices of female genital mutilation and early child forced marriage," he said.
Cameron said: "For me the context is very simple. The context is about equality. I am a dad with three children, two girls and a boy. And I want my girls to grow up with every opportunity my son has … and that is what this is about – equality."
The government is also to set up a female genital mutilation unit, as part of a wide-ranging package of reforms to stop the practice in the UK, said the home secretary, Theresa May, who spoke earlier in the day.
The unit, which could operate in a similar way to the government's forced marriage unit, has been a key demand of campaigners against FGM. "These measures will ensure that we can maintain the momentum on stamping out these harmful practices," May said.
The education campaigner Malala Yousafzai, who was shot in the face by the Taliban while trying to get an education in Pakistan as a 15-year-old, called on practising countries to change traditions. "We should not be followers of those traditions that go against human rights," she told the summit. "We are the human beings and we make the traditions. Traditions are not sent from God. We have the right to change cultures and we should change it."
Yousafzai added that Islam did not condone FGM and early forced marriage, and challenged those who used religion as an excuse to subjugate girls. "There are people who need to read the Qur'an again and do a little bit more study," she said.
The government also plans to strengthen laws around FGM, making parents liable if their child is found to have suffered FGM and giving victims going through court cases lifelong anonymity.
A push to improve police responses to FGM will see forces inspected on their response to "honour"-based violence, with a focus on FGM and forced marriage. The college of policing has also begun a consultation on new guidelines, which will urge officers to dismiss fears of being labelled racist when dealing with FGM.
FGM has been illegal in the UK for three decades, but the first prosecution was only made in March and is currently going through the courts. As part of a £1.4m prevention programme, charities will receive funding to create community "champions" with the "cultural knowledge and the connections necessary to challenge beliefs and behaviours".
"We are making progress. Today we are taking one more step on the road towards giving women a voice and eradicating these harmful practices," said May.
More than 600 people attended the Girl Summit at Walworth academy in south London. In a video message, the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, said he had been inspired by young campaigners on the issue. He singled out for praise Fahma Mohamed, the face of the Guardian's campaign to get more information on FGM into schools.
"I commend global leaders and brave activists confronting these problems, especially the courageous young women in affected communities," he said. "They deserve our full support. Like Fahma Mohamed, who inspired me so much when we met in March with the Guardian's campaign. I pledged to her, and I repeat today, that I will continue to raise my voice about the urgency of ending these harmful practices."
