What reasons do parents give in support of FGM?
FGM is carried out for various cultural, religious and social reasons within families and communities in the mistaken belief that it’ll benefit the girl in some way (for example, as a preparation for marriage or to preserve her virginity).
How can I help FGM?
7 ways to end FGMChallenge the discriminatory reasons FGM is practised. Change traditions – with the support of older generations. Educate girls on their right to decide what happens to their body. Speak out about the risks and realities of FGM. Spread understanding that religion does not demand FGM.
What is the impact of FGM?
Complications may occur in all types of FGM, but are most frequent with infibulation. Immediate complications include severe pain, shock, haemorrhage, tetanus or infection, urine retention, ulceration of the genital region and injury to adjacent tissue, wound infection, urinary infection, fever, and septicemia.
What is the sentence for FGM?
It replaced the Prohibition of Female Circumcision Act 1985, extending the ban on female genital mutilation to address the practice of taking girls abroad to undergo FGM procedures, and increased the maximum penalty from 5 to 14 years’ imprisonment.
What is an FGM protection order?
Details. FGM protection orders offer a legal means to protect and safeguard victims and potential victims of FGM .
Where is FGM illegal?
Significantly, of the 55 million girls (aged 0–14) who have experienced or are at risk of FGM across the 28 countries: ▪ 50% of them are in 3 countries that have anti-FGM laws (Egypt, Ethiopia and Nigeria); and ▪ 30% of them are in the 6 countries without current anti-FGM laws (Chad, Liberia, Mali, Sierra Leone.
What is breast ironing?
Breast ironing, also known as breast flattening, is the pounding and massaging of a pubescent girl’s breasts, using hard or heated objects, to try to make them stop developing or disappear. The most widely used implement for breast ironing is a wooden pestle normally used for pounding tubers.
What is female circumcision in Egypt?
Genital cutting of girls was banned in Egypt in 2008 and criminalized in 2016. But the practise often referred to as female genital mutilation (FGM) or circumcision remains a rite of passage and is often viewed as a way to promote chastity.
Is FGM legal in Egypt?
The Grand Mufti of Egypt, Ali Gomaa, said that it is “Prohibited, prohibited, prohibited.” Egypt passed a law banning FGM. The June 2007 Ministry ban eliminated a loophole that allowed girls to undergo the procedure for health reasons.
How common is FGM in Egypt?
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) has been performed in Egypt since pharaonic times. An FGM prevalence of 87.2% among all women aged 15-492 in a population of nearly 95 million suggests that Egypt has the greatest number of women and girls who have experienced FGM of any country in the world.
Is FGM legal in the US?
Federal law 18 U.S. Code § 116 ‘Female Genital Mutilation’ makes it illegal to perform FGM in the U.S. and was amended in 2013 to make it illegal to knowingly transport a girl out of the U.S. for the purpose of FGM.
Where did FGM?
Some researchers have traced the practice to Egypt in the fifth-century BC and argue that the geographical distribution of FGM suggests that it originated on the west coast of the Red Sea. Egyptian mummies show women infibulated and this is supported by a Greek papyrus in the British Museum dated 163 BC.
Is FGM still practiced today?
It is estimated that more than 200 million girls and women alive today have undergone female genital mutilation in the countries where the practice is concentrated. Furthermore, there are an estimated 3 million girls at risk of undergoing female genital mutilation every year.
Is it illegal to take a child abroad for FGM?
Female genital mutilation ( FGM ), sometimes known as ‘female circumcision’ or ‘female genital cutting’, is illegal in the UK. It’s also illegal to take abroad a British national or permanent resident for FGM , or to help someone trying to do this.
What is FGM clinic?
National FGM Support Clinics (NFGMSCs) are community-based clinics that offer a range of support services for women with female genital mutilation (FGM). This service is available to women aged 18 or older who are not pregnant when they seek support.
What does infibulation mean?
: extreme female genital mutilation involving complete excision of the clitoris, labia minora, and most of the labia majora followed by stitching to close up most of the vagina.
Which risk assessments requires a multi agency information gathering exercise?
A local authority may exercise its powers under Section 47 of the Children Act 1989 if it has reason to believe that a child is likely to suffer or has suffered FGM. Under the Children Act 1989, local authorities can apply to the Courts for various Orders to prevent a child being taken abroad.
What do you do if you suspect FGM?
If a girl appears to have been recently cut or you believe she is at imminent risk, act immediately – this may include phoning 999. REMEMBER: Mandatory reporting is only one part of safeguarding against FGM and other abuse.
Who may be at risk of FGM?
Who is at risk? FGM is mostly carried out on young girls sometime between infancy and adolescence, and occasionally on adult women. More than 3 million girls are estimated to be at risk for FGM annually.
What is the maximum penalty for FGM?
the offence of assisting a girl to carry out FGM on herself while also creating extra-territorial offences to deter people from taking girls abroad for mutilation. To reflect the serious harm caused, the 2003 Act increased the maximum penalty for any of the FGM offences from five to 14 years’ imprisonment.