Written evidence submitted by the Hawa Trust

INTRODUCTION

Hawa Trust welcomes the Select Committee’s initiatives to combat Female Genital Mutilations (FGM). Those who engage in such practice must be prosecuted. Prosecutions have occurred in France and other mainland European countries, but nothing has so far happened in the whole of the UK. We hope that this consultation will have significant effects in practice. There is obviously much to be done. I hope the following presentation will help in this regard.

Professional and personal experience of - FGM

I involved in the fight against FGM for many reasons, I became a victim 0f FGM while I was just 13 years old in Sierra Leone. I remembered when my aunty took me to the Northern Province of Sierra Leone in order to undergo the FGM ceremony.

In the morning hours, I was taken to the “Bondo Bush”, there I saw lots of women dancing and singing, while the cutting was going. When my turn reaches I was put on the floor in order to do the cutting.

The procedure is usually carried out in secret and leaves victims in agony, survivors can be left with lifelong physical problems and psychological trauma, and some even lose their lives. The thought of the operation, As a victim of female genital mutilation (FGM), I am appealing to girls who feel they are at risk should come forward for help.

In Sierra Leone where I comes form, around 94 per cent of women have undergone FGM between the ages of 15 and 49 have been cut. (See my interview on Channel 4 news at http://www.channel4.com/news/first-fgm-helpline-to-protect-uk-women-and-girls).

I developed more interest in FGM while completing my MA degree in Social Work at the Anglia Ruskin University. I realised that apart from the physical effects of FGM, there were several psycho-social factors which are not really noticed but it can resulted in life time impacts in a form of depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and similar challenges. However, such challenges were not being addressed either by the public services or community organisations.

There needs to be a cultural understanding of the FGM abuse so as to prevent its occurrence and empower the victims.

Hawa Trust worked to create awareness of FGM in Hackney and it is the only Trust presently working on this issue to bring awareness among Africans, Asian women and girls in Hackney.

I have attended several meetings that include Hackney Safe Guarding Board, the House of Parliament, intercollegiate FGM Symposium, CVSE meeting and RCM.

We also contributed in establishing a helpline for the NSPCCA.

However, what have not been addressed by several organisations are geographical factors in the continuation of FGM. FGM did not start in the UK; the practice came here from the countries of origins of those practicing it. Addressing issues only in the UK is not enough.

As I state below there are needs to be action in Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. There are arrangements with foreign countries in terms of legal positions but there is no programme which supports UK-based organisation to work both in the UK and in Africa. Organisations like ours can understand what is happening here and then trace the patterns of FGM which happen in Africa. While efforts are to be made

Some parents in the Diaspora took their children during the holidays to undergo FGM play a significant role in undermining the FGM message in Africa.

GENDER VIOLENCE AND CULTURE IN SIERRA LEONE

SEXUAL VIOLENCE

“Sande and Bondo” Secret societies: Female genital mutilation (FGM) which is widely practiced on women and girls in Sierra Leone is one of the activities of “Sande and Bundo” secret societies.

FGM is generally practice by all classes, including the educated elite. Secret Societies like the Sande and Bundo where girls are forced to undergo certain rituals, such as puberty rites are also widely practiced in Sierra Leone both Christians and Muslims with the exception of the Krios who live in the western area.

The girls of the secret societies are taught to be submissive to their husbands. Traditional dances and annual feast are part of the rituals. It is reported that the 85 percent of women and girls in Sierra Leone are members of this secret societies.

Female genital mutilation is a cultural practice without religious foundation or justification despite the misconception and misinterpretation to the contrary on the part of the victims and perpetrators. The ignorance of many women about religious teachings and interpretations has led them to believe that their status is unequal to that of men and that their subordination is a dictate of God.

This believed is so deeply rooted, especially among traditional societies, that women accept cruel and degrading treatment as part of their obligation. Human societies that are strongly marked by a patriarchal system are also characterized by various forms of violence against women to control their sexuality and fertility. Female genital mutilation is an extreme form of violence, injurious to millions of women and girl children.

According to the estimate of the World Health Organization, over 100 million women are affected by the practice.

The practice is usually performed, under very unhygienic conditions, by untrained elderly women – Ouddo in Somalia, Daya in Egypt, Khafedha in Sudan, Sunnah in Mali, Bondo or Sande in Sierra Leone. Using razor blades, pieces of glass, or knives, these same women, in most countries, are traditional birth attendants and traditional healers.

In Mail, Nigeria, Guinea, Gambia and Sierra Leone, practitioners perform FGM as an income-generating activity. In Sudan, Somalia, Djibouti and Nigeria, some mothers are known to take their daughters to clinic to make sure that the operation is performed under medical supervision.

Old grandmothers or aunts operate on the girls. In some countries likes Indonesia and Malaysia, small incisions are made in the prepuce of the clitoris without totally removing it. Virginity is a strong reason cited by mothers and grandmothers for preserving the practice of FGM/C.

The young uncircumcised girl is still considered today as a second-class citizen, impure, a bilekoro, according to a typical expression in Mali and Guinea such a young girl can neither married nor even be allowed to prepare the family meal until she agrees to be circumcised.

The practice is inculcated in the minds of girls by family members and peer groups throughout their socializing process. In Sierra Leone, FGM forms a part of the initiation ceremony of womanhood. After the physical operation the girls undergo training on how to be good wives, mothers, and members of their society. Dr Olayinka Koso- Thomas in her book, the circumcision of woman describes the ceremony of graduation.

Geographical distribution of female genital mutilation; FGM is said to have been practiced worldwide at one time in history for various reasons all related to women’s sexuality. At present its prevalence is largely observed in Africa.

According to reports presented by Dr Koso-Thomas, in different seminars, the practice exists in the following countries. Excision (Clitoridectomy) Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Cote D Ivory, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger (Small part of the country), Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda and Yemen. Circumcision (Sunnah) The above mentioned countries plus Australia, Bahrain, parts of India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. Infibulations; Djibouti, Egypt (Nubians), Ethiopia Mail (among a few ethnic groups) Somalia and Sudan. FGM is also reported to exist in Europe among the immigrant populations in UK, Finland, France, Italy, Netherland, Sweden, and the United States.

How effective is the existing legislative framework on FGM, and what are the barriers to achieving a successful prosecution in the UK?

Lack of effective and practical collaboration among professionals, including pre-schools, social workers, and teachers

Lack of awareness of the legislation among professionals,

This is done well by grassroots charities

But lack of funding of these charities

Lack of support for victims who may want to report their parents

Failure to address FGM abroad especially in Africa; Parents take their children abroad to undergo this practice (FGM)

Which groups in the UK are most at risk of FGM (whether in this country or abroad), and what are the barriers to identification and intervention?

The main groups that are at risk of FGM in the UK are mainly BME communities especially women and girls from sub-Saharan African backgrounds.

In Sierra Leone, West Africa, the main communities affected are women and girls from the provincial tribes. These include girls as young as 5 years and women.

There are several barriers to identification and intervention.

In terms of identification, it is difficult to identify women and girls at risk in the UK. This is because

In terms of identification of those most at risk in Sierra Leone

In terms of intervention, there are several barriers to intervention for women and girls at risk in the UK. This is because

In terms of intervention of those most at risk in Sierra Leone, there are many barriers. These include, Cultural taboos relating to the family much of the abuse being perpetrated goes unreported.

FGM problem is not discussed it is a big taboo in African community.

Young girls are suffering unnecessarily many bleed to death or are infected with HIV, Hepatitis and other diseases; there is much ignorance about the issue among African communities.

Many Africans feel FGM is out culture and we must support it. Engage with people from Africa, Middle East and Asia on practical strategies to combat the FGM abuse. Support initiatives like help line, refuge, asylum support, etc for victims.

In Sierra Leone, FGM is called Bondo society is very influential. The government is afraid to oppose it; it tried once to enact a law to ban FGM, but later withdrew it.

The Bondo society provides votes for politicians, children as young as 3 are subjected to FGM abuse. To stop FGM here we need to also raise awareness in Sub- era- African.

Marriage and FGM: In most African and Middle Eastern communities

Practising FGM, the main justifications concentrate on morality, virginity, honour and marriage, and sexual control, FGM is expected to fulfil and

Maintain these virtues. For most African women as well as other Third World women marriage is not an option but a must for survival. Marriage and reproduction are the only guarantee for women to gain economic security and social status.

Infertility is one of the worst fates that a woman can face in her life in these communities. Marriage ensures a woman with old age pension or security as well as respect in the society. A woman without children or an unmarried woman will have a very difficult life and a devastated old age, especially ones without any support from their relatives or community.

The whole practice of FGM is the base for marriage. Without undergoing FGM, a woman is denied the right of marriage, in most cases also the denial of receiving bride price. An unmarried woman is an outcast in the society.

In Africa marriage does not come easily without its sacrifices. Virginity must be maintained at the time of marriage and the lack of it has damaging social consequences to the individual as well as to the parents.

Virginity is the base for marriage ability and it also enforces the prohibitions of sexual relationships outside marriage. Virginity is also considered as a base for a family’s honour.

A girl is expected to bring honour to her family through the preservation of her virginity. This is where FGM comes as a means of ensuring virginity. It is also believed that virginity of a woman ensures the fatherhood of the husband.

Another misconception is that women are presumed to be weak in areas of emotion and, therefore, must be controlled. In other words, women are unable to control their sexuality. That is why it is believed that uncircumcised girls are assumed to run wild, or are considered of loose moral, bringing shame to their parents.

FGM is expected to play that role by reducing the girl’s sexual desire and prevent sexual experience before marriage. The reduced desire even during the marriage is expected to ensure faithfulness of the woman to her husband.

It is believed that FGM controls women’s sexuality effectively. FGM may reduce the feelings but it cannot reduce the desire and, in addition, it does not guarantee chastity. It does not guarantee the morality of women, as shown by the fact that FGM practising countries have relatively high numbers of prostitutes.

In addition, FGM has nothing to do with moral behaviour which comes basically from proper moral education and the individual’s intended behaviour.

Gender identity is also given as a reason for the practice of FGM. It is practiced to clearly distinguish the sex of an individual based on the belief that the foreskin of a boy makes him female and the clitoris of the female makes her a male.

So in FGM practising countries the removal of the clitoris, which is believed to be male parts, makes a woman feminine. In addition, clitoris is considered to be ugly on a girl and must be removed to eliminate any indications of maleness. Some go even to the extreme by priding themselves on the degree of mutilation. According to one Sudanese woman, “In some countries they only cut out the clitoris, but here we do it properly. We scrape our girls clean. If it is properly done, nothing is left, other than a scar. Everything has to be cut away.”

The clitoris and labia, considered to be the masculine parts, are seen as dangerous and poisonous organs and must be removed for health reasons. It is believed that they will kill a baby during birth and will also cause trouble to the man during intercourse.

Similar attitudes and misconceptions include that leaving a girl uncircumcised endangers both her husband and her baby; if the baby’s head touches the uncut clitoris during birth, the baby will be born hydrocephalic (excess cranial fluid). The milk of the mother will become poisonous. If a man’s penis touches a woman’s clitoris, he will become impotent. The misconceptions are listless, but one can easily see that all these justifications are scientifically refutable. Ignorance and the cover of tradition ensure its survival.

It is further believed that the removal of the clitoris and labia contribute to the cleanliness and beauty of women because an unmotivated woman is considered dirty and polluted. This is one reason why uncircumcised women are ostracized within their own families and communities. The absence or removal of the clitoris keeps the vagina clean and makes vaginal intercourse more desirable than clitoris.

What are the respective roles of the police, health, education and social care professionals, and the third sector; and how can multi-agency co-operation be improved?

Local authorities, under section 10 of the Children Act 2004, have a responsibility to promote inter-agency cooperation to improve the welfare of children.

The multi-agency guidelines specify that Local Safeguarding boards are responsible for ensuring inter- and multi-agency training in FGM. Moreover,

Social Service to implement a social work team.

Engagement of Police with communities affected by FGM.

Health; Maternity and child health data sets is a national database which links maternal health and child health records, ensuring that information from maternity is shared with child health professionals, and strengthening data recording to identify FGM or the risk of FGM.

How can the systems for collecting and sharing information on FGM be improved?

Funding is lacking for small grassroots organisations. Moreover, it seems that these top tier organisations tend to exploit the smaller organisations by gathering information and data from them which they then use to apply for large funding.

There needs to be special funding streams which target smaller organisations which have local knowledge and which deliver vital services at the grassroots level and for those communities which slip through the public servicers and those provided by top tier organisations.

How effective are existing efforts to raise awareness of FGM?

I have made presentations at various for on FGM. I have worked with Dr Comfort Momoh, MBE, who is the FGM National Coordinator, and head of the African Well Women’s Clinic Guy’s & St. Thomas’s Hospital. I made a PowerPoint presentation on the challenges of combating FGM in the UK.

FGM has caused severe damage and trauma to young lives, yet it remains a taboo and a misunderstood subject.

It is against this background that Hawa Trust recently organizing a public awareness-raising event to provide deeper understanding on FGM and support young women who are vulnerable to FGM.

This events took place on Friday 6th December 2013 at the Kingsmead Community Centre, 9a Kingsmead Road, Homerton Road, Hackney, London E9 5QG.

The Keynote Address was delivered by Dr. Comfort Momoh, MBE (FGM/Public Health Specialist; FGM National Coordinator, African Well Women’s Clinic, Guy’s & St. Thomas’s Hospital).  A statement was also made by Ms Debbie Ariyo, OBE, Founder/Executive Director, and AFRUCA – Africans United against Child Abuse.

Dr. Momoh’s PowerPoint presentation was a shock to the women attendees as they did not realize that FGM had terrible physical and psychological effects. Some of the women who attended reports that they were experiencing forms of trauma and were invited to attend the African Well Women’s Clinic at Guy’s & St. Thomas’s Hospital. This was the first event of its kind in Hackney. This is a significant milestone for Hawa Trust and for the communities we are working with.

Sensitization and awareness rising of FGM and HIV among local communities

Education activities at schools, especially towards the long holidays; Dropping leaflets and other promotional materials;

Drop-in services to inform girls and young women about the risks and dangers of FGM;

Parent information evenings to discuss with them about the dangers of the practice;

Lobbying local council and other authorities to initiate policies and guidelines to prevent and deal with FGM;

Engaging with community leaders – like pastors, imams, youth leaders, and heads of community organisations – to involve them in FGM prevention;

  Raising funds to support victims and their parents to manage and overcome the effects of FGM;

Provide alternative summer activities for young people

How can the available support and services be improved for women and girls in the UK who have suffered FGM?

Creation of an FGM team just as currently there is a domestic violence team, or children looked after team

There is a need for a distinction between the health focus of FGM and the cultural factors. There should be efforts to show that tackling FGM has nothing to do with African culture

Work in place of origins of FGM – in Africa

What is the UK doing in those countries where FGM is done abroad in the African continent?

Hawa Trust is willing to provide additional specialist information on FGM in Sierra Leone and West African countries on the need to negate with sierra Leoneans and other Africans so that we can address

Declaration of interests

Hawa Trust declares that in making this presentation we received no support from any organisation, we have no financial relationships with any organisations that might have an interest in this particular presentation, and have no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the contents of this particular presentation.

Mrs Hawa D. Sesay,

Executive Director, Hawa Trust (Ltd),

Website: www.hawatrust.org.uk

References:

Dr Comfort Momoh, MBE FGM National Coordinator, and head of the African Well Women’s Clinic Guy’s and St Thomas’s Hospital

Dr Olayinaka Koso- Thomas Campaigning against the practice for nearly three decades, her book entitled” circumcision of women, strategy for eradication of female Genital Mutilation in Sierra Leone (1987).

UN Children’s Funds (UNICEF) reported 94 percent of women in Sierra Leone had undergone FGM/C

http;//www.channel4.com/news/first-fgm helpline-to protect-uk- women-and girl

Local Authorities under Section 10 Children Act 2004.

Sierra Leone’s 2007 Childers Right law Forbids

World Health Organization (WHO) Khartoum Seminar 1978