Shocking abuse must stop

For decades, female genital mutilation (FGM) was shrouded in shame and secrecy, with only feminists and women trade unionists pioneers in speaking out against it. Now prime ministers and religious leaders are doing so too.

UK crime figures on FGM tell the story. Until March this year, no one in the UK had even been charged with an FGM-related offence. Yet we know that at least 137,000 women are living in the UK with FGM and over 600,000 girls are at risk.

But after decades of inaction, says Obi Amadi, Unite lead professional officer representing school nurses and health visitors, there appears at last to be a real appetite for change to do more to protect UK girls from this abuse.

Last year, Unite joined with three of the health Royal Colleges and charity Equality Now to develop a groundbreaking report on tackling FGM, just published, which gives nine top recommendations for action.

Child abuse

It flagged up how lack of consistent data was hampering the fight against FGM and said the practice should be seen as child abuse and a severe form of violence against women and girls. It made the case for a campaign to raise awareness, along the lines of campaigns highlighting domestic violence and HIV. And it called for front line staff to be made accountable.

It was launched in the House of Commons in November and has had a big impact on government thinking. Questions posed are being responded to across government. No wonder Obi welcomed the recent government announcements – along with colleagues from the royal colleges – because she helped shape them.

The report didn’t mince words. “Misplaced concern for cultural sensitivities over the rights of the child is one of the main reasons why the UK has failed to tackle FGM to date.”

It identified a need for practitioners to “overcome their reluctance to respond to FGM as child abuse” and underscored the need for training and support.

Front line staff must have the confidence to raise legitimate concerns about FGM, receive training and make talking about the practice routinely to overcome awkwardness.

Earlier this year, the home affairs select committee branded action on FGM as a “national scandal”, and called for immediate action to tackle what it calls “a growing crisis”.

Obi Amadi

Obi (pictured ) is quite emphatic. “Female genital mutilation is child abuse. There is no way it can ever be justified.”

The former health visitor adds, “It’s been a crime in the UK for nearly 30 years. But for too long, people have tip-toed around it for fear of causing offence.”

Girls’ summit

At the Girls’ summit on July 22, called by the Prime Minister, the government outlined ambitious plans to eradicate FGM within a generation.

Measures include legislation to open the way for parents to be prosecuted if they fail to prevent their daughters “being cut” and a £1.4m programme to help care for survivors and protect those at risk.

Obi, whose passion to end FGM is obvious, welcomes the moves – and the campaigning role young women are playing in getting the government to do more to protect others from needless pain and a life time of health and psychological problems.

The “cutting season” – a phrase Obi hates – is happening now as schools shut for the summer holidays. The prospect of facing arrest on return is, she has heard from the police, already acting as a deterrent.

Obi, who represents health visitors, school nurses and community practitioners among Unite’s health professionals, welcomes plans to strengthen safeguarding through gathering and sharing information.

Routinely questioning mothers- to- be about FGM when they book in at antenatal clinic would, she says, help identify numbers and those who could be at risk in future. The data would be transferred to a child’s health record.

She’s also heartened that the Muslim Council of Britain has declared that FGM is contrary to Islam and should be shunned to save girls from serious damage to their health.

Leaflets distributed in mosques and community centres should help school nurses, health visitors and other professionals save more young women from FGM and its baleful health consequences – from chronic urinary tract infections to fistula.

“There are no benefits from FGM – just deficits,” says Obi. “Women and girls affected by FGM should get the specialist help they need.”

Obi believes many health professionals need training and support to follow through on lines of questioning they find “uncomfortable, intrusive and embarrassing”. But it’s vital to do so to protect young women from harm.

Unite’s community health members in the front line will be playing their part. The fight against FGM is yet another reason to keep investing in front line staff.

At last, girls living in the UK and at risk of being mutilated would get the protection and safeguarding they deserve.

Raising awareness is crucial. Talking about FGM in school, on social media, in communities, will help protect more young women from the knife. Tiptoeing around this form of child abuse is just no longer good enough.