Friday, September 06, 2013

2,000 female genital mutilation victims seek help at London hospitals in just three years but true figure is 'far more than figures show'

Almost 300 women needed surgery to help them recover from the brutal ritual, new figures have revealed.

Among those treated in the capital's hospitals included 12 children, including one girl who had been left with an 'open wound' following the criminal act.

Despite being illegal in the UK, female genital mutilation is on the rise with an estimated 66,000 women dealing with the after-effects and more than 20,000 young girls thought to be at risk.

The procedure is associated with communities in Africa, particularly Mali, Somalia, Sudan and Kenya, as well as some parts of the Middle East.

Many girls living in Britain are taken to these countries for be 'cut', and some will be as young as five.

But it is becoming more prevalent in the UK and  experts say today's figures are 'truly shocking' but there are 'far more victims' than the data shows.

In the majority of cases the clitoris is removed because it gives sexual pleasure.

A total of 2,115 FGM patients were seen between 2010 and now, the Evening Standard has revealed.

Dr Comfort Momoh, a specialist in dealing with these injuries at St Thomas’ Hospital, said: 'These statistics show a very significant number of women are being treated for FGM.

    'But there are still lots out there who are not being identified because they don’t know where to go for help, aren’t being referred by GPs or are too scared to come forward.

    Barbaric: A collection of knives, blades and amulet used for female circumcision in Kenya's Pokot district
    Harrowing: Nine-year old Fay Mohammed pictured days after undergoing FGM at home in Mogadishu
    Barbaric: A collection of knives, blades and amulet used for female circumcision in Kenya's Pokot district (left). Nine-year old Fay Mohammed pictured days after undergoing FGM at home in Mogadishu (right)

    'I JUST PASSED OUT': GIRL SPEAKS OF HER FGM NIGHTMARE IN SOMALIA

    Nimko Ali
    Nimko Ali was just seven years old when she was taken to Somalia for a 'holiday' where she would be subjected to the horrific procedure.
    'There was a woman at the door in a burka. I was scared and instinctively started running. When I was caught, I was taken into a room filled with instruments I didn't recognise,' she said.
    'The woman I was so afraid of was there waiting for me. She scolded me for running away, telling me how difficult it was to obtain equipment like this; how ungrateful I was.
    'I blacked out before she started cutting. I'm still not sure whether it was the anaesthetic or pure fear'.
    When Ali woke, she was in agony with her legs bound together. Taken back to the Uk two days later, Ali found that friends and teachers were unwilling to take her story seriously, leaving her feeling let down and alone.
    'I’m really worried about girls, in particular. Where are they going to seek help? 

    The GPs who are their first point of call often don’t have the knowledge. 

    We also need teachers and lecturers to do more to at least signpost girls towards help.'

    Nimko Ali was seven when she underwent Female Genital Mutilation in Somalia and now campaigns against it through her charity Daughters of Eve.

    'For too long, it has been passed off as a "cultural" ritual. 

    But this act is not about celebration. FGM is gender-based violence, it's as simple as that,' she said.

    It came as Director of Public Keir Starmer said it was 'only a matter of time' before there is a prosecution for female genital mutilation.

    'I think a prosecution is much closer now than it's been at any stage since this was made a criminal offence in this country,' he said.

    'We have devised a strategy, and we have now got the intelligence-led operations that are bringing us very close to a prosecution.

    'I do not think that's a failure - that is trying to grapple with a difficult problem. If it was easy there would have been a prosecution.'

    Female genital mutilation helpline uncovers 34 potential cases.

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