In response to the International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation on 6 February, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) states that although it is fully aware of the cultural sensitivities surrounding communities which continue to subject their prepubescent or teenage girls to ritual circumcision, it is also a brutal practice that is associated with long-term physical and psychological morbidity.
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is illegal and banned in the UK under the Female Genital Mutilation Act of 2003 but there is anecdotal evidence that the practice is still occurring amongst sections of society where girls are flown out of the UK to have the operation, often carried out by an untrained member of the community using crude tools in unhygienic settings. In the majority of cases, consent is not obtained. Three million girls in the world are estimated to be at risk of FGM each year1 and around 20,000 girls are from the UK2.
The RCOG’s clinical guidelines on FGM provide information on the care of women with the condition and identifies the additional support that is needed. The immediate complications for women who have undergone FGM include infection, septicaemia, haemorrhage and at the extreme, death. There are also potential obstetric and neonatal consequences later in life. For this reason, special care is needed during the antenatal and intrapartum periods. It must also be noted that the psychological wellbeing of the woman must be carefully considered during treatment.
In time and with changing attitudes, it is the hope of the RCOG and other organisations such as the WHO and the UN that the practice of FGM is eradicated. In the meantime, the RCOG looks forward to the results of the Department of Health’s study into FGM, undertaken in August 2009.
5 February 2010
Notes
1 WHO ‘Eliminating female genital mutilation: an interagency statement’ (2008)
2 Dorkenoo E, Morrison L, MacFarlane A. A Statistical Study to estimate the Prevalence of Female Genital Mutilation in England and Wales. Summary Report. London: Forward; 2007.
Click here to view the RCOG Greentop Clinical Guideline Female Genital Mutilation and its Management (revised 2009).
Click here to view the UNICEF UK Position Statement on Female Genital Mutilation.
Click here for the position and resources from the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO).
Click here to view Female genital mutilation - caring for patients and child protection (2006), guidance from the BMA Ethics Department.
Click here for resources from the FGM National Clinical Network group.
Click here for resources from FOWARD UK on FGM.