* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
The female genital mutilation (FGM) trial, which ended today in Southwark Crown Court, is the first since this extreme human rights violation was banned in England and Wales in 1985. Dr. Dhanuson Dharmasena was acquitted, but the fact that the trial took place was a huge step in the right direction and a watershed moment for organisations that have been working on eliminating FGM for decades. It also highlights the huge gaps in terms of training front-line professionals on what to do when presented with a woman affected by FGM – or indeed a girl who is potentially at risk.
The trial sent a very strong message that FGM is not only against the law, but that the law will be effectively implemented. Last July, along with City University, Equality Now announced that 137,000 women and girls living in England and Wales in 2011 were affected by FGM, so this is an extremely urgent issue.
Many people might wonder why prosecutions are so important. As much as it relates to convictions, the law is also a tool to protect girls at risk and break the cycle of abuse. I grew up in Kenya, a country which is leading the way globally in terms of ending FGM. Prevalence has fallen from 49% for middle-aged women to 15% for adolescents according to a UNICEF report from 2013. This country uses a combination of approaches to ensure social change – but very much focuses on the need to implement the 2011 prohibition of FGM law. Kenya has also established an anti-FGM board to protect girls from – and educate the public on – FGM and set up an anti-FGM prosecutorial unit to ensure that perpetrators of FGM face the full force of the law.
However, to eliminate FGM, simultaneous actions need to take place aimed at prevention, protection of girls at risk, service provision and working in partnerships. Although much progress has been made in recent years in the UK, the government has yet to fully engage on several fronts, including the adequate provision of support to survivors, raising awareness at a national level and ensuring that front-line professionals receive appropriate training to ensure that all girls at risk are protected. The simple fact is that FGM is child abuse and an extreme form of violence against women and girls. It should not be dealt with in a different way to other violations of human rights.
The UK trial has been possible not only because of the great work by FGM survivors such as Nimco Ali, Leyla Hussein, Hoda Ali, Sarian Kamara, Alimatu Dimonekene and many others, civil society organisations, the metropolitan police service and the crown prosecution service, but also because many diverse bodies have worked together as part of a ‘joined-up’ approach to ending FGM.
Jane Ellison MP, the Department of Health, the Royal Medical Colleges and other health personnel in particular have taken a central role in calling for the necessary data-collection systems to be set up. However, there has been some backtracking too by some others. A 2013 report from the Royal Medical Colleges, Equality Now and Unite the Union, outlining recommendations to identify, report and record instances of FGM, was endorsed by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. However, recently, it seemed to suggest that it may be backtracking somewhat.
The full engagement of all health and child safeguarding professionals is essential if we are to put the relevant systems in place to end FGM. Any shirking of responsibility by any health body to protect girls at risk is not acceptable. We see similar concerns in Kenya. While FGM prevalence is falling, the percentage of health personnel performing it has actually increased in recent years. The same situation has occurred in Egypt, where a doctor who mutilated and killed a 13 year old girl, Soheir al-Batea, was sentenced last week to two years and three months in prison. In the United States, in 2010, the American Academy of Pediatrics issued a policy statement which endorsed Type IV FGM, which we helped to successfully repeal.
Health personnel are given the task of protecting those people they come in contact with. The Hippocratic Oath, which they agree to, tells them to ‘Do No Harm’. They are held in high esteem in most societies and are trusted members of the public. Those who perform FGM betray this trust and privilege given to them.
The prosecutions help to ensure justice for the woman who gave birth in the UK – and for the young Egyptian girl, who sadly passed away as a result. They communicate that their lives are valuable and that what happened to them is not acceptable in any way. They also help to protect the next generation of girls from FGM by sending the message that all measures will be taken to protect girls at risk and that their needs and well-being will no longer be ignored.
Mary Wandia is FGM Programme Manager, Equality Now, based in Nairobi, Kenya
