FGM Zero Tolerance Conference

ZERO TOLERANCE

Awareness Raising Conference

Awareness raising about FGM to focus & engage with communities & professionals.

FGM ZERO TOLERANCE CONFERENCE

- By Varuna Kukrety

Nottingham is the first City in the UK to declare a zerotolerance stance on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Agenda of the Zero Tolerance Conference was to discuss how to create awareness training and make pathways to help eradicate the practise of FGM. The participating speakers were from Mojatu, the Nottingham City Council, the Nottingham Police, NHS, Social Workers and Community Ambassadors with the motive| slogan-

LET’S WORK TOGETHER TO EFFECTIVELY PUT AN END TO FGM.

FGM is associated with cultural ideals of femininity and modesty, which include the notion that girls are clean and beautiful after removal of body parts that are considered unclean, unfeminine or male (WHO, 2022). This thought process can be changed by raising awareness through conferences, having social spaces to bring women together and create safe spaces for discussion and dialogue aiding in self-empowerment and growth.

Some people believe that the practice has religious support, although no religious scripts prescribe the practice. Religious leaders take varying positions with regard to FGM: some promote it, some consider it irrelevant to religion, and others contribute to its elimination (WHO, 2022). Community engagement practices involving men and authority figures from diasporic communities can make a positive impact. When informed the community and religious leaders and medical practitioners can prove to be effective propagators of abandonment of the practice.

Normalizing discussions about FGM by breaking down barriers and stereotypes within communities and the public is an essential step towards the eradication. Collaborating with local organisations, and local forces of power can aid with better detection, awareness and empowerment of FGM survivors and reduce the prevalence of the practice. Family support involving men and all members of the family to build a community wide awareness and understanding to stand against FGM should be given priority. Making information accessible to everyone in community centres and having trained representatives in communities that women feel comfortable to approach. To work towards offering a safe space for survivors of FGM to talk about their experiences in anonymity, offering vital therapeutic support and counselling services amidst cultural and religious sensitivities. These services are often the first opportunity women have to openly discuss the impact of FGM on their physical and mental health.

No child should ever be subjected to FGM, and the practise is now a Criminal Offense. Since 1985 when the Prohibition of Female Circumcision Act was passed (The Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 replaced the 1985 Act in England, Wales and Northern Ireland), the Act introduced measures to enhance the protection of vulnerable children and others, by strengthening the law to tackle FGM and domestic abuse. With more awareness and training for teachers and support staff in schools, FGM is now more widely known in schools, thanks to the guidance including Keeping Children Safe in Education.

Open discussions in schools so the next generation has awareness of issues and feel open to discussions. Getting the government to include educational knowledge about FGM in the national curriculum science and ensure that young women attend sexual health clinics with access to specialist counselling and support, created open discussions in schools; so, the next generation has awareness of issues and feel open to discussions.

Wellbeing and Midwifery clinic in the community with confidential and a non- pressurising environment should be established in Nottingham where women feel comfortable to talk with anonymity. More support for the supporters of survivors should be instituted to ensure that they can continue with their work surrounding FGM by creating more awareness and the sensitivity around it through speaking different languages.

FGM IN WHITE COMMUNITIES - By Mojatu FGM Team

Female Genital Mutilation is not an issue isolated to African and Middle Eastern communities. It has occurred in White Christian communities for centuries, dating back to the 19th century as a cure for masturbation. Despite not being mentioned in any religious text, FGM tends to be associated with Black, Middle Eastern and Muslim communities. However, in recent years a number of white Christians in America have begun to come forward and tell their stories and experiences of undergoing FGM. They hope that this will help to raise awareness of how widespread the issue is and encourage others to not be afraid to tell their stories too. The practice of FGM in communities across the world is form of gender- based violence which is used to control young women and girls’ sexuality and reaffirm men as dominant figures in society. In 2016, US citizen Renee Bergstrom tells her story of having her clitoris removed in a church clinic when she was 3 years old. Although this sounds like a rare case, FGM is swept under the carpet and not spoken about in Western communities, with many survivors maybe not realising that they have experienced any wrongdoing at all. Within Conservative Christian communities in America, religion is sometimes used to scare people into keeping secrets or doing what they are told, with threats that if they do not cooperate, they will go to hell. One survivor notes that they believed that FGM was something that all girls go through until they were an adult, attended nursing school and learnt about human anatomy. FGM within Christian communities is used to establish a women’s submission to men and celebrate their obedience to God. It controls women’s sexuality and encourages the narrative that women’s sexuality and masturbation is a sin. Currently, FGM is not criminalized in 21 US states. It is so important for people and policy- makers to realise that this is not an issue confined to African and Muslim communities but one that affects everyone. Increased dialogue and awareness of FGM taking place in all communities can help to prevent more young girls and women from becoming at risk. According to the United Nations, 200 million women and girls have undergone FGM. More discussions around FGM can help survivors speak up and question what happened to them, stopping the cycle and helping self- empowerment.

SEXUAL VIOLENCE - THE CASE OF MASON GREENWOOD

- By Ifeanyi Ogbonna

Mason Greenwood, a twenty-year-old footballer for Manchester United was arrested on suspicion of rape, sexual assault, and threats to kill after his former girlfriend, Harriet Robson, leaked videos and pictures of him on social media supposedly perpetuating these acts. This is not completely unusual in the professional football community, as there are numerous other examples of players being accused, arrested, and even convicted of different forms of sexual violence. These all highlight the persistent problem that remains in our society – domestic violence against women. It is crucial especially for young women to understand what counts as sexual assault|abuse. In England and Wales, the legal definition of sexual assault is when someone intentionally touches another person in a sexual manner without that person’s consent, and the touching can be with any part of the body or anything else.Sexual assault and sexual violence, in general, is not something that is spoken about enough in our late childhood|teenage years, and adulthood is too late to begin these conversations. Not only is this because it would make women and men more aware what constitutes these actions, but research shows that the more we talk about this before adulthood, the less likely it is that abusive dynamics will occur. Two places are crucial for these discussions to happen: the home and school. If we have these uncomfortable conversations in places where they are not normally held, this will go a long way to beginning to tackle this large problem. The reason why it is important to highlight Mason Greenwood and other footballers is because perhaps when these acts are perpetuated by people of great influence or fame women may feel pressured to keep quiet or intimidated. Whilst looking at tackling the causes, we also must address the punishment one receives for these acts. The current maximum sentence for sexual assault is 10 years, with the offence range being 0-7 years. This does not go far enough, but education whilst in custody about sexual violence could be compulsory.