FGM

 

No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Article 5 of the Declaration of Human Rights

In the UK, it is estimated that up to 24,000 girls under the age of 15 are at risk of female genital mutilation (FGM).

Foreign and Commonwealth website information

"FGM is recognised internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and women. It reflects deep-rooted inequality between the sexes, and constitutes an extreme form of discrimination against women. The practice violates a person's rights to health, security and physical integrity, the right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and the right to life when the procedure results in death."

 World Health Organisation 

SUPPORT to tackle Female Genital Mutilation

New guidelines will help frontline professionals such as nurses, doctors, teachers and social workers identify and prevent Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone announced today (February 2011).

The guidelines, issued by the government to chairs of Local Safeguarding Children’s Boards, Directors of Children’s Services and Regional Directors of Public Health, will help professionals identify women and girls at risk and set out the practical steps that can be taken to protect th

Minister for Equalities Lynne Featherstone said: “I have seen first hand the effect this abhorrent crime can have on women and girls. This government is determined to put an end to it. The guidelines published today will help local authorities, charities and communities work together to prevent women and girls being subjected to this terrible abuse, and that those who have already suffered are given the appropriate care and support."

 

 

Lords' Debate

On 13 January 2011 the House of Lords debated Violence Against Women. Baroness Prosser said:

"Women in many areas of the world look to countries such as the United Kingdom to come to their aid to help to save them from what can be appalling atrocities. Rape and mutilation are a daily occurrence in the Democratic Republic of Congo-a misnomer if ever there was one. There are so-called cultural practices that leave women with no rights to leave a violent partner or to reject forced marriages and female genital mutilation. If we are to consider ourselves as civilised and sympathetic to the plight of those women, words must be turned into action and must be backed up by the strategic allocation of appropriate resources. UN Resolution 1325 gives us the mechanism to deliver a better life for many women and girls who are currently suffering so badly, who feel abandoned and who are indeed victims of rape and violence as a weapon of war."

Baroness Verma said:

"Another issue of great concern is the lack of prosecutions for female genital mutilation. We have no reason to believe that the Crown Prosecution Service would not be prepared to prosecute if cases were referred to it and there was sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction. Anecdotally, the most likely barrier to prosecution is pressure from the family or wider community to stay silent. However, the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 provides a clear message that FGM is an unacceptable practice and illegal in England and Wales. The Act has also been a catalyst for outreach work and has helped to raise awareness of FGM. We will shortly launch new guidelines which will support front-line staff to tackle and prevent the practice, provide support to women and girls and encourage the referral of all suspected cases to the police for investigation."

A transcript of the full debate can be read at the link.

 

UNICEF report on FGM

The UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre in Florence, was established in 1988 to strengthen the research capability of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and to support its advocacy for children worldwide.

On 26 November 2010 Innocenti produced a 68-page report that examines the social dynamics of the abandonment of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) in five countries - Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Senegal and the Sudan - and seeks to inform policies and programmes aimed at ending the practice. The experiences from the five countries documented provide evidence that the abandonment of FGM/C is possible when programmes and policies address the complex social dynamics associated with the practice and challenge established gender relationships and existing assumptions and stereotypes. This publication concludes with reflections on the remaining challenges of FGM/C abandonment and offers recommendations.

 

Conference Motion 5

At the Federation Conference in Cardiff in 2009, Motion 5 required all Soroptimists in the Federation to:

Take positive discernible steps to encourage their respective governments to employ effective enforcement measures to eradicate Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and related practices. Therefore, we urge all clubs to lobby governments throughout this Federation, and join forces with partner organizations such as UNICEF and the World Health Organisation to work towards the total eradication of harmful traditional practices.

To help with this work, in addition to the following information, we have drawn together and listed at the foot of this page a number of organisations who are working in a variety of ways to combat FGM.

Our Study Day in July 2010 had as its theme, our Flagship Project, Violence Against Women - Stop It Now and Naana Otoo-Oyortey, from Forward (the lead organisation in the UK on the fight against FGM), conducted the FGM workshop.  

 

What is Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)?

Female genital mutilation (FGM), also sometimes known as female genital cutting or, confusingly, female *circumcision (see Deciphering the Terms below), is defined by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as the range of procedures which involve "the partial or complete removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs whether for cultural or any other non-therapeutic reason".

*The most important difference between FGM and male circumcision is that FGM impedes the natural functioning of the female body in ways that male circumcision does not.

See below under Deciphering the Terms.

In March 2004, the new UK Female Genital Mutilation Act was introduced. Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is prohibited by law in England, Scotland and Wales (where it carries a 14-year jail sentence), whether it is committed against a United Kingdom national or permanent United Kingdom resident in the UK or abroad.

FGM is an abuse of the human rights of girls and women and therefore a child protection issue.

The practice is cultural, not religious, and is performed in order to make a girl more 'marriageable'. It is felt in many areas that a girl who has not had FGM is unclean - but another reason for it is to remove the enjoyment of sexual intercourse and so ensure that a wife is faithful.
 

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has categorised FGM into four main types: 

1. Clitoridectomy: partial or total removal of the clitoris (a small, sensitive and erectile part of the female genitals) and, in very rare cases, only the prepuce (the fold of skin surrounding the clitoris).
2. Excision: partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia minora, with or without excision of the labia majora (the labia are "the lips" that surround the vagina).
3. Infibulation: narrowing of the vaginal opening through the creation of a covering seal. The seal is formed by cutting and repositioning the inner, or outer, labia, with or without removal of the clitoris.
4. Other: all other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for non-medical purposes, e.g. pricking, piercing, incising, scraping and cauterising the genital area.

As will be seen from the above, the most severe form is the clitoridectomy, also known as infibulation or pharaonic circumcision. The procedure consists of removing the clitoris and the excision and cutting of the labia majora to create raw surfaces which are then stitched or held together in order to form a cover over the vagina when they heal. A small hole is left to allow urine and menstrual blood to escape.
 

UN Meeting on FGM

Over four days in May last year, the United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa met in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to discuss 'on good practices in legislation to address harmful practices against women'. The 18-page report of that meeting can be downloaded here.
 

The Times article

On 16 March 2009 The Times published an article on FGM. To read this go to this link

Daily Mail article

The Daily Mail has also published findings of a four-month investigation into FGM in this country. To read this go to this link.

 

Deciphering the terms: Circumcision, mutilation, or cutting?

The terminology applied to this procedure has undergone a number of important evolutions. When the practice first came to be known beyond the societies in which it was traditionally carried out, it was generally referred to as “female circumcision”. This term, however, draws a direct parallel with male circumcision and, as a result, creates confusion between these two distinct practices. In the case of Type 1 FGM, this is equivalent to male castration plus penectomy (the removal of the penis). 

The expression “female genital mutilation” (FGM) gained growing support in the late 1970s. The word “mutilation” not only establishes a clear linguistic distinction with male circumcision, but also, due to its strong negative connotations, emphasizes the gravity of the act.

In 1990, this term was adopted at the third conference of the Inter African Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children (IAC) in Addis Ababa. In 1991, the WHO recommended that the United Nations adopt this terminology and subsequently, it has been widely used in UN documents. The use of the word “mutilation” reinforces the idea that this practice is a violation of girls’ and women’s human rights, and thereby helps promote national and international advocacy towards its abandonment.

At the community level, however, the term can be problematic. Local languages generally use the less judgmental “cutting” to describe the practice; parents understandably resent the suggestion that they are “mutilating” their daughters. In this spirit, in 1999, the UN Special Rapporteur on Traditional Practices called for tact and patience regarding activities in this area and drew attention to the risk of “demonizing” certain cultures, religions and communities. As a result, “cutting” has increasingly come to be used to avoid alienating communities.

It is estimated that approximately 138 million African women have undergone FGM worldwide and each year, a further two million girls are estimated to be at risk of the practice. Most of them live in African countries, a few in the Middle East and Asian countries, and increasingly in Europe (including the UK), Australia, New Zealand, the United States of America and Canada.

The procedure is traditionally carried out by an older woman with no medical training. Anaesthetics and antiseptic treatment are not generally used and the practice is usually carried out using basic tools such as knives, scissors, scalpels, pieces of glass and razor blades. Often iodine or a mixture of herbs is placed on the wound to tighten the vagina and stop the bleeding.

The age at which the practice is carried out varies, from shortly after birth to the labour of the first child, depending on the community or individual family. The most common age is between four and ten, although it appears to be falling. This suggests that 'cutting' is becoming less strongly linked to puberty rites and initiation into adulthood.

As a result of immigration and refugee movements, FGM is now being practiced by ethnic minority populations in other parts of the world and, increasingly in the UK.

FORWARD estimates that as many as 6,500 girls are at risk of FGM within the UK every year.

Organisations and clubs working on FGM: