Why Have There Been No Arrests And Convictions Over This Barbarous Practice?

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/special-report-female-genital-mutilation--unreported-ignored-and-unpunished-8439824.html

[rojash]

Maybe you should have read the article instead of just posting the link:

"[The DPP] said he feared it would take another quarter of a century for present anti-FGM laws on their own to produce successful prosecutions, as they ultimately depended on girls reporting their own families to the police. "

[VHG]

Because we now have many ghettos in this country where ethnic minorities gather and live together, and where anyone from "outside" stands out like a sore thumb.

All sorts of practicies go on in these ghettos, such as religious rituals (a dead limbless child has been found floating in the thames), witchcraft, and some parents have killed their children as they thought they were "haunted"

If you let people from 3rd world countries come here, bringing their 3rd world practices with them, then these sort of things will go on behind doors and curtains and are very hard to trace.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_(murder_victim)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-20125115

[Gromit]

Probably because it is not a criminal offence. Otherwise our prisons would be full of rabbis.

[boxtops]

Interesting one - where would you draw the line with mutilation? Personally I find this a hideous practice which has lifelong implications for the girl.

However, IMO any invasion of a child is offensive, it's not in the same class but I hate to see babies and young children with piercings, they've had no say in the matter.

[PetitAnglais]

Gromit, FGM is legal?? I find that hard to believe, unless it's voluntary.

[hc4361]

No, it isn't legal in the UK.
As far as I know Jews don't carry out FGM with the exception of Ethopian Jews where it is carried out by women, not Rabbis.

[anotheoldgit]

rojash

For your information I did.

/// as they ultimately depended depended on girls reporting their own families to the police. ///

It is not only left for the victims themselves reporting their abuse.

Do you not think that it is possible that some of these girls have already been examined in some form or other by members of the NHS and then reported to social services?

[boxtops]

It would be treated as a child protection issue, surely

[Gromit]

The 2003 Act. I wonder if you can spot the whopping great big loophole?

// (2)But no offence is committed by an approved person who performs—
(a)a surgical operation on a girl which is necessary for her physical or mental health //

[hc4361]

It is feasible that a girl could reach the age of 18 without a gynae examination.

[ummmm]

AOG - the first time I was examined was when I was pregnant with my first child so for the majority of these women/girls it wouldn't be discovered that they'd been mutilated at a young age.

[anotheoldgit]

ummmm

/// AOG - the first time I was examined was when I was pregnant with my first child so for the majority of these women/girls it wouldn't be discovered that they'd been mutilated at a young
age. ///

Just because you yourself wasn't examined until you were pregnant doesn't mean that all girls are never examined until they are adults.

What if one of these girls happens to contact an infection due to the brutal disfigurement she had unwillingly undergone, she would then have to attend A&E surely?

[ummmm]

If they don't contract an infection then there is no reason whatsoever to be examined down there. Pregnancy and smear tests are the only reasons I can think of.

I'm not actually sure internal examinations are performed during pregnancy anymore.

[hc4361]

These girls won't get taken to a doctor if they get an infection from the FGM because the parents are fully aware of the consequences.

[dave50]

Again pandering to minority groups, it's time we stood up for ourselves, never mind diversity, racism, they dont matter, it's just words do what we think is right, to hell with them.

[Duncer]

(a)a surgical operation on a girl which is necessary for her physical or mental health //

No matter how I look at this I cannot find it "necessary" for either physical or mental health .

[LazyGun]

One can only hope that more cases are reported, and that it is made easier for victims and potential victims to report such practices.

No question - it is barbarous, it is llegal in the UK, being classified as a form of child abuse, and those practising it should definitely be punished.

[China Doll]

FGM is illegal. If you come in to this country having allowed your child to undergo FGM then you will not be proscuted. If you have a child in this country and take them abroad to undergo the procedure and it is found out, then depending on severity you can be prosecuted.

There are different levels of FGM which range from a scratch to actually narrowing the vaginal opening and/or removal of the clitoris. Most cases we see in clinics are of the small cut variety. It is a child safeguarding issue if it is found out.