It's often thought that Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is an atrocity that occurs far away from our own schools and our own children in the UK; in deepest, darkest Africa. But the reality could not be more different.
The practice is no longer restricted to geographical or political boundaries, potential factors being cheap travel or migration. In fact, according to a recent Sunday Times expose, a number of health practitioners were believed to be offering to perform FGM in the UK.
FGM is a "violation so intrusive and personal that many people adopt a culture of silence as it is humiliating and embarrassing to talk about", according to Mukami McCrum MBE, policy advisor to the Scottish government on issues of violence against women.
FGM is a traditional cultural practice involving the cutting or removal of the external female genitals. It is performed for a variety of reasons - preserving virginity, improving marriage prospects or promoting cultural identity - many of which are based on untrue myths which keep the practice going. On average, girls are cut between the ages of five and eight, with a trend moving towards cutting at an even younger age.
Predominantly practised by non-medically trained women, it can result in pain and health problems ranging from depression to a risk of infection as serious as HIV. In some cases, FGM can cause complications in childbirth later in life, putting both mother and baby at risk, due to the severe damage to genitalia.
The British Medical Association recently agreed to highlight to their General Practitioners that we are approaching the Cutting Season. In the past, refugee or asylum families residing in the UK from the 28 countries in Africa where FGM is still practised, would take their girls to their home countries to be cut in the long summer holidays.
This would allow time for them to 'recover' before coming back through border control where liaison officers keep an eye out for families from FGM practising communities, as it's illegal (up to 12 years in prison) to 'aid and abet' a UK resident to have FGM in the UK or abroad. It's still hard to control as, unlike in Sweden, the UK will not examine girls at airports or, as in France, pupils are not examined by a school nurse.
Due to the cost of travel in recession-hit Britain, and influenced by greater rigour from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, 'cutting parties' have allegedly filled a new demand. Now a lone circumciser can come to the UK and slip through passport control, to cut a number of girls in the quiet of a UK home at a 'cutting party'. The travel costs of families travelling 'home' are saved and all share the minimal costs of travel, board and lodging for one circumciser. Six weeks later, unless anything medically awful has happened, teachers may not even know it's happened, putting changes in 'mood' down to family problems or adolescent hormones, so any psychological trauma goes undetected.
Some charities or local authorities put on community health days in the summer to educate and support families, highlighting the importance of safeguarding (even suggesting not to go 'home' if FGM will happen there) The FGM Faith Based Forum is uniting Muslim, Jewish and Christian faiths to stand up against FGM, reminding communities it has no place in any 'Holy Book'.
Some UK communities have taken a strong stance against FGM. Since 2009, NHS Bristol has worked on safeguarding girls by enabling families and communities to abandon FGM and improve sexual and reproductive rights. A Community Advisory Group has been formed and 18 community women have been trained as leaders and community advocates. The last two summers, women marched through Bristol chanting 'No FGM' - with Somali, Arabic and English banners. This past weekend the University of Bristol hosted the first Young People led conference on FGM to help educate local communities on the legal and health implications of FGM.
So as your children come to the end of another school term, have a thought for the 24,000 girls at risk of FGM in the UK - who may have looked forward to a summer without homework, and invites to parties with friends - but instead will get a goody bag of emotional and health implications which will stay with them for life.
Find out how you can help end this violence against young women at www.28toomany.org
Hilary Burrage: Female Genital Mutilation: Why Does This 'Holiday' Horror Endure?
How many are not white?
What support from leaders of Muslim organisations have you had?
Association of British Muslims will be marching with you?
The Coalition of British Muslim Organisations?
Where are they?
The number of girls and women world-wide who have undergone genital mutilation is
estimated at between 100 and 140 million, with 3 million young girls undergoing it each year.3
It is found in 28 African countries, and also in South East Asia and the Middle East. The highest
prevalence rates, of 90% or more, are found in Djibouti, Egypt, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Somalia
and Sudan. Eritrea and Mali both also have very high prevalence rates, around 80%.4 It is also
found in Europe and elsewhere amongst communities originating from these parts of the
world.
In Britain, female genital mutilation is seen in some ethnic groups that have migrated to this
country. The majority are refugees. The main groups in the UK are from Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia,
Gambia, Iraq, Kenya, Kurdistan, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Northern Sudan, Sierra Leone and
Somalia. Dispersal of asylum seekers across the UK makes increasing numbers of doctors likely
to come into contact with girls and women who have been mutilated and girls who might be.
Watch for more in the media next week on FGM!
Some condemn it on the same grounds you seem to - that it is an infringement of someone's body, as well as being unspeakably cruel.
Other regular posters on Huffington Post on the other hand will simply see your article as another handy stick to beat Muslims with.
Some see male infant circumcision as a way to uphold tradition and parental rights, others see it as a violation of the individual child, who is not in a position to give informed consent. (The Guardian has a big debate on this on its Letters page today.)
The tenor of the discussion can be seen here: http://hilaryburrage.com/2012/06/03/the-other-fgm-debate-is-male-circumcision-also-child-abuse/ or you might like to Follow the @NoFGM1 Twitter account, where this matter is examined by people coming from many different angles.
But, whatever, there is real concern that the male circumcision issues should not cloud over the much greater personal risk to children who undergo FGM, not least as the appalling 'cutting season' commences ... and informed protagonists on both 'sides' of the male circumcision debate would also want these FGM concerns aspect not to be lost.
All are, quite rightly, agreed that FGM in the UK is a massive scandal. That children in Britain should be so horribly abused is beyond imagination.
There is an e-petition on the HMGovernment site demanding that serious focused action be taken, now, to 'Stop FGM in Britain'. Hopefully very many British people will sign it: http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/35313 ... and please do urge others to do the same.
Those with an active interest may also like to take a look at (or if they wish, add to) this reference list of matters around #FGM: http://nofgm.org/2012/07/02/nofgm-a-lsting-references/.
And, of course, please be sure to support work on the ground by www.28toomany.org and others who are striving to end FGM.
So until these community leaders and "spiritual heads" step forward and inform their "people" that these ways are both illegal and barbaric; nothing will change.
Nevertheless, an interesting subject worthy of further discussion on threads like this.
There is a government backed ethos in the British Youth Justice system that states; “Our Aim is to Protect the Child.’
When are the authorities going to deal with this ridiculous superstition that comes from the dark ages of ignorance?
This is a male promoted practice that seeks to remove the pleasure principle of the victims future sex life.
It should be against the law and the perpetrators should be brought to book! An act, good government should have tackled years ago. This is at odds with the democratic and equality process in this country.
Mr. Cameron, when? Actions speak louder than words!
ALL genital mutilation is wrong.
Frankly I don't think it's helpful to start arguing about who has it worse off, I think that we should protect the right of all children to have needless bodily mutilation from being forced upon them, ALL children.
This probably helps to explain why, along with a larger population from the relevant parts of the world, the incidence of FGM in the UK is actually increasing. Apparently 'ex-pats' from these other parts of the globe feel a need to do something which defines them as connecting with their 'homeland' culture.
So the challenge of changing things in the UK is presumably connected with changing behaviours elsewhere as well; and vice-versa...