{"id":665,"date":"2014-08-11T08:00:18","date_gmt":"2014-08-11T07:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=665"},"modified":"2014-08-11T10:10:45","modified_gmt":"2014-08-11T09:10:45","slug":"shocking-abuse-must-stop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=665","title":{"rendered":"Shocking abuse must stop"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

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.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Child abuse<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c along with colleagues from the royal colleges \u00e2\u20ac\u201c because she helped shape them.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The report didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mince words. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bMisplaced 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.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It identified a need for practitioners to \u00e2\u20ac\u015bovercome their reluctance to respond to FGM as child abuse\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 and underscored the need for training and support.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Earlier this year, the home affairs select committee branded action on FGM as a \u00e2\u20ac\u015bnational scandal\u00e2\u20ac\u0165, and called for immediate action to tackle what it calls \u00e2\u20ac\u015ba growing crisis\u00e2\u20ac\u0165.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Obi<\/a>

Obi Amadi<\/p><\/div>\n

Obi (pictured ) is quite emphatic. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bFemale genital mutilation is child abuse. There is no way it can ever be justified.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The former health visitor adds, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 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.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Girls\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 summit<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

At the Girls\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 summit on July 22, called by the Prime Minister, the government outlined ambitious plans to eradicate FGM within a generation.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Measures include legislation to open the way for parents to be prosecuted if they fail to prevent their daughters \u00e2\u20ac\u015bbeing cut\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 and a \u00c2\u01411.4m programme to help care for survivors and protect those at risk.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Obi, whose passion to end FGM is obvious, welcomes the moves \u00e2\u20ac\u201c 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.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The \u00e2\u20ac\u015bcutting season\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c a phrase Obi hates \u00e2\u20ac\u201c 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.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Obi, who represents health visitors, school nurses and community practitioners among Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s health professionals, welcomes plans to strengthen safeguarding through gathering and sharing information.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s health record.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 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.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c from chronic urinary tract infections to fistula.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThere are no benefits from FGM \u00e2\u20ac\u201c just deficits,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 says Obi. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWomen and girls affected by FGM should get the specialist help they need.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Obi believes many health professionals need training and support to follow through on lines of questioning they find \u00e2\u20ac\u015buncomfortable, intrusive and embarrassing\u00e2\u20ac\u0165. But it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s vital to do so to protect young women from harm.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 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.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

At last, girls living in the UK and at risk of being mutilated would get the protection and safeguarding they deserve.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":674,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[],"wps_subtitle":"Unite gives evidence at FGM summit","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/665"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=665"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/665\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":676,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/665\/revisions\/676"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/674"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=665"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}