Thursday, July 3, 2014

London Members of Parliament home affairs committee takes a stand against FGM and girl's at risk protection,early detection! Yes! Compiled reports by Standard London,Jacqueline Dale Shaw-Mashua Against FGM,Hilary Burrage-No FGMBook,and Amb Lucy Mashua

#CATCHTHISFGMITSUCKSTOBEYOU!-- Doctors, teachers and other public workers were today told that 'cultural sensitivities' must no longer obstruct the fight against female genital mutilation as MPs called for a national campaign to stamp out the practice. The Home Affairs Select Committee said that 'misplaced concerns' about challenging traditional practices within some ethnic communities were 'one of the main reason' why girls living in Britain were still suffering mutilation. The warnings came in a report on the scale of FGM, which calls for a national action plan and the regular medical examination of girls at 'high risk'. Changes in the law would include the introduction of 'FGM protection orders' and a legal duty for doctors to report mutilation. "FGM is not cultural, it is criminal; it is not tribal, it is torture; it is not an initiation but inhumane. Those who conduct this abuse, or silently standy by whilst it occurs, should and will be relentlessly pursued with the full force of the law"
My friend Member of Parliament Karl Turner the fight against FGM brought us together,He is one hell of a good person,I even asked him to meet with some of my UK partners of our GLOBAL FGM STATEMENT and he said "sure Mashua".Thank you chairman Keith Vaz MP,Mp Turner and all the MPs in home affairs office.Thank you for stamping the atrocious beast down! The report that was published July 3rd by House of Commons Home Affairs Committee. The Committee chaired by Keith Vaz MP, reflects much of what we (Honorary members of Global statement on FGM) proposed click here to view http://statementonfgm.com/2013/08/28/feminist-statement-on-naming-and-abolition-of-female-genital-mutilation/ – compulsory PSHE, proper training for concerned practitioners, more support for community activists. The British Government’s FGM agenda has moved on, as activists globally and domestically have campaigned relentlessly for action to eradicate what the Home Affairs Committee (Vaz) Report tells us, even on conservative estimates, is probably ‘one of the most prevalent forms of severe child abuse in the UK‘ [para 14]. There is much in the Report to commend it. Amongst other measures the cross-party Committee affirms that FGM is embedded in patriarchy and calls for a national action plan – perhaps like that emerging in 2011? – to address this criminal gender-based violence and extreme form of child abuse [8]; proposes some amendment of the law to make prosecution easier [97] (mainly, to include people who are not permanently resident) chastises the police [76] for failing to make significant efforts to apprehend offenders – whether as principals or as accessories after the fact (but more could be said about the need for a diverse police force which understands and can read the signs from different communities); suggests that FGM victims should be given press and broadcast anonymity [36]; recommends the Multi-Agency Practice Guidelines are updated and placed on a statutory footing [45] (the Committee says they require active promotion, and queries why the General Practitioners are not signatories [44]); recognises the urgent need for more training of front-line professionals and practitioners [44] across the health, education and social services (though it fails to say by whom); calls for much more accurate information on where [11] and on how many girls and women FGM is carried out [12] (some systematic data collection has just been instigated); would like to see more personal and health – including psychological and psychiatric [107] – FGM care provision across the nation [106], as well as dedicated FGM shelters [110]; proposes clarification of the status of re-infibulation [88] and genital cosmetic surgery [89]; praises the third and voluntary sectors, and individual campaigners, for their steadfast work to raise awareness of FGM and says they need much more resourcing [104] (albeit not how this will be made available); proposes that all antenatal booking interviews include a question on the mother’s FGM status [56] and that any perceived risk of FGM be entered in baby girls’ Personal Child Health Record (Red Books) as well as alerting safeguarding authorities [57] (but the Committee doesn’t propose any single route for this alert); acknowledges the case for some enabling of medical examination when girls are thought to be, or to have been, at risk [37] (but with typical British reticence rejects routine examination of all small children such as in France, where many prosecutions have been secured – and where paediatric health checks are the norm); commends the Secretary of State for Education for his recent letter to schools on FGM (and suggests re-ending it, with a link to funding to encourage all recipients to read it) [66]; and … crucially, puts aside Ministerial reservations [63] to recommend that personal, social and health education (PSHE) must at last become part of the compulsory curriculum, and that all headteachers and child protection officers must have FGM and forced marriage safeguarding training, to be disseminated to staff before the end of 2014 [66]. The recommendation for compulsory PSHE, including information on FGM in high-prevalence areas [67] is a big breakthrough which, if it happens, will be widely celebrated by everyone with an informed view.
Thank you Hilary Burrage for candid informative report. UK way to lead this fight against FGM and protecting British girls.