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Nearly
500 cases of female genital mutilation (FGM) were discovered in hospitals
across the country during the last month, the latest figures reveal. Data
published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) revealed 15
cases of FGM were reported by hospitals every day on average in November.
Last
month, a total of 466 cases were discovered, and in October, when the first
month’s FGM figures were recorded, 455 cases were found. Nearly one quarter of
NHS practices didn’t submit data, so the figure is estimated to be much higher, according to RT.com.
The
figures for December are expected to be published this week.
The
FGM procedure involves the partial or complete removal of external genitalia
for non-medical reasons. It is common practice in north and east Africa, as
well as some Middle Eastern countries.
It
is often performed as a cultural and symbolic ritual representing the passage
into womanhood.
Though
the practice has been illegal in the UK since 1985, no one has yet to be
prosecuted for carrying out or sanctioning the procedure. The high levels of
recorded FGM, however, raise concerns about the level at which the operations
are performed without acknowledgement by medical professionals.
The
disclosure of the latest figures coincides with the historic trial of the first
person ever accused of performing FGM in the UK.
Dhanuson
Dharmasena is on trial for allegedly performing FGM on a woman, who had
recently given birth at the Whittington hospital in North London.
Dharmasena,
31, is alleged to have been assisted in the procedure by Hasan Mohamed, 40, who
is not a medical professional. Dharmasena is said to have been encouraged by
Mohamed to repair the previous FGM carried out on the woman after she gave birth.
Both
men are reported to have pleaded “not
guilty” to the charge. They will stand trial in May.
John
Cameron, head of child protection for the National Society for the Prevention
of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), called FGM a “barbaric practice.”
“It is vital all health professionals are
trained to spot the signs of FGM and that girls who are subjected to this
brutal practice get the post-traumatic support they deserve,” he
told the Sunday Times.
The
procedure puts women at risk of infertility, problematic childbirth, infection,
and in extreme cases can even result in death.
According to Plan Charity,
which campaigns against FGM, almost 20,000 girls in the UK are at risk of harm
each year, and nearly 130 million women worldwide have undergone the procedure.
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