- FGM/C Research Initiative

16 December 2011

Falling between the cracks

As I know from working in Barnet, the borough is diverse – 33% of the population coming from the black and minority ethnic population, placing it 16th rank position in London. At the first anti-FGM meeting we held in Barnet recently under Safeguarding Month, 26 professionals attended to hear speakers from 28TooMany, Imkaan and FORWARD, sharing about FGM. Yet, why do women still fall through the cracks?

25 November 2011

What is the 16 Days of Activism Campaign?

It’s an annual global campaign taking place from 25th November – 10th December, aiming to raise awareness around gender based violence (GBV). It begins on International Day For the Elimination of Violence Against Women (25th November) and ends on International Human Rights Day (10th December), symbolically linking violence against women (VAW) as a violation against human rights

4 November 2011

Are we silent to violence around us?

‘We’re perpetrators. We allowed this to happen’, said a Bishop form the Democratic Republic of Congo at the launch of the Silent No More Report (WB1). This response recognised The Church, by its silence, has been complicit in allowing sexual violence to go unaddressed

14 October 2011

How can we support Kenyan communities to abandon the knife - ending FGM?

As I travel to Kenya, my head is full of images and stories of girls undergoing FGM. How can meetings I’ve had recently with MPs and NGOs in London, and plan to hold in Nairobi, end this practice

23 September 2011

How can 'change' be made when the challenges seem insurmountable?

This is what I am often asked as I take a stance against FGM, a practice that’s been around for 2000 years. Yet when you read the poem at the end of this - produced with ‘Fouzia’s’ permission, a young woman admitted to hospital for FGM complications – how can one not act?

2 September 2011

What do other faiths say about FGM?

This was one of my questions when I studied cross-cultural studies. I knew there as not mention of it in the Bible, but what do faiths say on the subject? Here are some statements made from the three main monotheist religions about their views on

15 August 2011

Where is there help for those who suffer FGM in the UK?

For girls that suffer FGM, it is a very traumatic event, as often these girls do not know what is going to happen to them. Their heads are filled with promises of wonderful gifts and becoming a woman, but what they receive instead is a life full of pain and suffering which is more than physical.

22 July 2011

What are children’s aspirations today? How do they differ for child brides?

‘When I grow up I want to be…’. How often are these eight mortal words spoken from the mouths of babes? My early aspirations included being a surgeon(!), a physio and then a teacher…so how did I become a banker at age 16?! So what do child brides aspire to

8 July 2011

When are cultural practices against the needs of an individual?

TRUE OR FALSE? 1) A woman accepts her exile saying ‘If they say I’m a witch, then I must be’. 2) Are children selected for ritual killings for being left handed, geniuses or dyslexic? 3) Do Cameroonian girls have their pubescent beasts ‘ironed’ to attempt to help them disappear? 4) Are oath rituals are used to coerce children into trafficking? Read on for the answers and explanations

24 June 2011

That only happens in Africa doesn't it? Not so! Prepare for the summer cutting season in the UK.

Accordingly to Mukami McCrum, FGM is a “violation so intrusive and personal that many people adopt a culture of silence as it is humiliating and embarrassing to talk about”. Due to migration, FGM is not restricted to African geographical or political boundaries. Find out about its presence in the UK below

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