Are You Shocked At The Numbers Of F.g.m.

[ladybirder]

in the UK in 2014? And this report says it is the tip of the iceberg.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2795522/almost-2-000-women-six-months-treated-female-genital-mutilation-english-hospitals-official-figures-show.html

[New Judge]

No I am not at all surprised. This issue has been swept under the carpet for many years for fear of appearing "insensitive" to the cultural requirements of people not too well versed with the culture of the UK.

It is not acceptable in the UK to mutilate young girls and women and this way. Until this is understood and accepted by the communities that practice it it will continue unabated. It is not easily detectable principally because the victims generally will not come forward to report the crimes undertaken against them. Until this attitude is changed (which is not very likely) it will continue.

[sandyRoe]

And if a young girl, or woman, was to come forward she might be seen as 'dishonouring' her family. We all know where that might lead.

[New Judge]

Exactly, Sandy.

All part of the evidence to show that "multiculturalism" does not work. That ridiculous philosophy suggests that all cultures are equally valid, worthwhile and acceptable. This issue alone demonstrates that they are not and until that is recognised and accepted by everybody problems such as FGM will persist.

[jno]

I'm always doubtful about people saying "and this may be just the tip of the iceberg" - it means they have no idea, they're just trying to worry people.

[hc4361]

That report doesn't mention the ages of the victims. I bet many are over 25 who were mutilated many years ago before coming to the UK. There is nothing that can be done about them but I would like to know the number of girls who were living in the UK when this was done to them, whether that was here or abroad whilst they were on holiday.

[ludwig]

// I'm always doubtful about people saying "and this may be just the tip of the iceberg" - it means they have no idea, they're just trying to worry people. //

You're right. There's no need for it. Simply saying 1746 cases in 6 months should already be more than enough to worry us. The only problem is it's the Mail, so already we're struggling to take the story as seriously as we should.

[bunkmoreland]

Hope this link comes up featuring the personal experience of David Bowie's wife,Iman http://www.fgmnetwork.org/gonews.php?subaction=showfull&id=1214174335&;ucat=1&

[mushroom25]

//it's the Mail, so already we're struggling to take the story as seriously as we should. //

are these other agencies similarly hysterical? they all tell the same story.
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/oct/16/fgm-nhs-female-genital-mutilation-women-girls
http://www.channel4.com/news/fgm-female-genital-mutilation-cutting-figures-england-nhs
http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/news/local-news/nearly-1000-victims-female-genital-7945221

[naomi24]

No, not at all. I've been talking about it for years. It's not before time that we're finally acknowledging the extent of it.

[youngmafbog]

Unfortunately Naomi I dont think all those in power do grasp it (across the political spectrum) so nothing will be done. Add to this the myriad of human rights we have to fight against to get to a perpetrator and it is a very uphill battle.

I know what the answer is, but I'm afraid my ideas would not sit well with the right-on brigade (and our Europe bosses) at all well.

[Booldawg]

I'm shocked at a lot of crime figures in the UK - this is simply another one.

[mikey4444]

Shocked but not surprised. These people come from backward countries, where this sort of thing is perfectly normal. What does worry me though is what are the Authorities going to do about it ? Perhaps we need a few high-profile prosecutions, that will discourage any more mothers from allowing this to happen to their children.

[naomi24]

Unfortunately it's not a case of mothers 'allowing' it to happen to their children - they demand it happens to their children - and in the main, take them abroad for the procedure which is usually carried out by barbaric means in filthy surroundings.

[ladybirder]

Yes Naomi, I heard one mother on a TV program about the subject saying that she had had to undergo it therefore so should her daughter!
I wasn't shocked either, just horrified. My thoughts are that the parents have to be prosecuted as well as the perpetrator, certainly in new cases, because I can't believe it's done without their knowledge and they are ultimately responsible for their child. And yet, in Mushroom's last link (thanks for posting)
Bishara Mohamud, a FGM project officer in Ealing working for Southall Community Alliance thinks they shouldn't be, she said: "These figures are not surprising to me. But something clearly needs to be done. My main concern here is that a lot of the girls are very young children who are being born in the UK and then are at immediate risk of undergoing the procedure here in London.

"What we want to see is prosecution of those that are performing the procedures on these children. Parents we feel should not be prosecuted but rather educated against the practice. Children and girls are not going to want to see their mothers prosecuted."


nj and sandy, quite right.
jno I would be worried without the 'tip of the iceberg' comment.
hc yes, I would like to know how many are new cases.
buck, thanks for the link. Iman it seems escaped because she had enlightened parents.
The first prosecution is happening in January so I suppose that's a start.

[bazwillrun]

another wondeful cultural benefit these people bring with them to enrich our country......not !

[New Judge]

"These people come from backward countries..."

That's perfectly true, Mikey, many of them did. But now many of them were born here and these abhorrent, barbaric practices are being continued here. This is because they have been told that they can continue to follow their "culture" (which is a strange term to use to describe the mutilation of young women) even though they now live in a country where such practices are illegal. They find it very hard to adapt to the way of life accepted by most people in the UK because they have been told they do not have to. As has already been said, mother says to daughter "I suffered it and so shall you".

It is all part of the ludicrous idea that people can live in the UK whilst following the cultures of the places they or their forbears originated from. This issue is one of the rewards we are reaping courtesy of "multiculturalism".

[beso]

No. Extreme misogyny is deeply embedded in the Abrahamic faiths so it comes as no surprise.

[mikey4444]

I know of no such occasion when the mothers of these poor girls have been told by "them" that they can continue to follow their culture in mutilating children. No one to my knowledge, in authority here in Britain, has told them that, so please don't turn this into yet another attempt to discredit immigrants. Only a small minority of immigrants here have the problem of FGM in their midst and it is much more wide spread abroad.

This has nothing to do with "multiculturalism" in Britain and everything to do with ignorance and the pressure that some women are under from their misogynist menfolk.