After a sabbatical to reenergise I’m glad to be back with you to share my thoughts and issues. I have a number of issues lined up in my head! Here is the first one.
Early this year in a landmark ruling, a mother-of-three became the first person in Britain to be found guilty of female genital mutilation (FGM), a gruesome practice that has been outlawed in the country for more than three decades. Following this, I seconded a motion in London Assembly to seek Londonwide action.
Nimco Ali, a British Somali anti-FGM campaigner and survivor of FGM said “it has taken 34 years for us to secure a successful conviction, but now that we have, I know things will change. Those within communities such as mine who thought police were too scared to act now - know this is not the case. Young people are joining the cause, to ensure everyone knows that we all have a role to play in the fight against FGM”.
There is a sense that real change is coming and I sincerely hope that the first conviction will lead to further convictions for those who carry out this crime and eventually lead London to be a zero cutting city.
The ‘Let’s Protect Our Girls’ campaign does excellent work in raising awareness of FGM and it’s lifelong consequences on women across the country. It brings attention to the brilliant work the NSPCC have been doing in this area.
I commend the work of the Mayor’s Office of Policing and Crime (MOPAC) ‘FGM Early Intervention Model’ that was piloted across five London-Boroughs. The FGM clinics set up under this pilot scheme have brought a holistic approach, combining health, social care and therapeutic services working together with community-organisations. I understand that women who have been referred to these clinics reported that the benefits of attending are considerable as they have gained knowledge and understanding about their own experiences with FGM, as well as an understanding of how to protect their children from it, whilst being offered practical and emotional support to deal with this difficult issues. I hope that this scheme will help shape our future approach to tackling FGM in London. Another important part of ensuring London is a zero cutting city, is to educate about FGM and it’s dangers. I commend Norbury School in Harrow for their pioneering work on this. They raise awareness of FGM amongst children and families, and also work to spot signs of possible FGM in children, and work to safeguard them. They deliver specific FGM awareness lessons to children aged 7 and up and promote the NSPCC’s ‘PANTS campaign’ to all pupils across the school. Their approach involves a number of different voices, centred on the children, but bringing together parents, community-groups, health services and the police. Norbury has gained a fantastic reputation as leaders in this field and their work acknowledged by the Mayor of London and also in the House of Commons.
I sincerely hope that we can see that MOPAC scheme expanded beyond current 5 boroughs, particularly in Brent and Harrow with some of the highest recorded figures of FGM in the country. I am planning a multiagency roundtable conference to take this issue forward. Important that we grab the sense of change and work together to eradicate FGM.
