1st UK prosecution for Female Genital Mutilation "imminent"
Discussion
Breadvan72 said:
FGM has been illegal in the UK for decades, but not one person has been prosecuted for it, so the problem is not a simple one with a simple solution of "ban it". Changing the views of those who practise this barbaric custom is the difficult thing.
The cynic in me says that if the people who practises this barbaric custom where a bit less PC friendly then we would of seen prosecutions by nowI know if i did the same thing to my dog in the same way then i would be looking at jail time for cruelty
Colonial said:
TwigtheWonderkid said:
Best post of the thread. People are perfectly entitled to be anti male circumcision, but to compare it to FGM is like comparing ear piercing to beheading.
Personally, I couldn't give a stuff about circumcision. Very few of the millions of men who have had it done without consent when young are remotely bothered about it.
FGM on the other hand is a total disgrace and anyone involved in it in the UK should be prosecuted and locked up for many years.
Good post. In an ideal world I would prefer no circumcision on boys but is a much lesser evil than female circumcision.Personally, I couldn't give a stuff about circumcision. Very few of the millions of men who have had it done without consent when young are remotely bothered about it.
FGM on the other hand is a total disgrace and anyone involved in it in the UK should be prosecuted and locked up for many years.
Breadvan72 said:
FGM has been illegal in the UK for decades, but not one person has been prosecuted for it, so the problem is not a simple one with a simple solution of "ban it". Changing the views of those who practise this barbaric custom is the difficult thing.
Even newborns at the time of the law are old enough to have kids now,cant believe a midwife or obstetrician, let alone a GP treating her in younger life, hasnt seen the damage & reported this. They cant ALL be of the same culture that accepts this barbarism! Or will it be the fear of being un-PC,culturally insensitive,or just racist! That is also shocking.Breadvan72 said:
FGM has been illegal in the UK for decades, but not one person has been prosecuted for it, so the problem is not a simple one with a simple solution of "ban it". Changing the views of those who practise this barbaric custom is the difficult thing.
Putting the child into a foster home at birth and putting everybody who came into contact with the kid on remand until they go to court will weed people out.If the people who practice this barbaric act don't like it, that's just tough luck for them. It's time to actually make a stand on principle about something going on within the British Isles who's perpetuation isn't able to be blamed on anybody else but the British legal and Policing system.
GavinPearson said:
utting the child into a foster home at birth and putting everybody who came into contact with the kid on remand until they go to court will weed people out.
If the people who practice this barbaric act don't like it, that's just tough luck for them. It's time to actually make a stand on principle about something going on within the British Isles who's perpetuation isn't able to be blamed on anybody else but the British legal and Policing system.
That view is over simplistic. This practice is hidden, and the victims do not always speak out, because of familial and cultural pressures. See also victims of child sex abuse. A prosecutor needs people willing to give evidence in order to secure a conviction.If the people who practice this barbaric act don't like it, that's just tough luck for them. It's time to actually make a stand on principle about something going on within the British Isles who's perpetuation isn't able to be blamed on anybody else but the British legal and Policing system.
Mr_B said:
Prosecuting a doctor for repairing earlier FGM? Query whether the allegation involves covering up the previous offence and not reporting the parents to the police. We shall have to wait and see.
We know that FGM goes on.
Why don't we therefore have legislation that says 'f
k the cultural fallout, your child will be checked by a doctor at age xx and you will be prosecuted it they are found to have been mutilated'?
How would this be in any way more intrusive than the 'cough' test?
Why don't we therefore have legislation that says 'f
k the cultural fallout, your child will be checked by a doctor at age xx and you will be prosecuted it they are found to have been mutilated'?How would this be in any way more intrusive than the 'cough' test?
My hunch is that the allegation may be something along these lines: The non doctor defendant persuaded the doctor defendant to repair an earlier mutilation, but to do so on the quiet without contacting police and social services. NB: this is mere supposition and the defendants are entitled to be presumed innocent.
IroningMan said:
We know that FGM goes on.
Why don't we therefore have legislation that says 'fk the cultural fallout, your child will be checked by a doctor at age xx and you will be prosecuted it they are found to have been mutilated'?
How would this be in any way more intrusive than the 'cough' test?
I agree with this. Why don't we therefore have legislation that says 'f
k the cultural fallout, your child will be checked by a doctor at age xx and you will be prosecuted it they are found to have been mutilated'?How would this be in any way more intrusive than the 'cough' test?
Breadvan72 said:
Prosecuting a doctor for repairing earlier FGM? Query whether the allegation involves covering up the previous offence and not reporting the parents to the police. We shall have to wait and see.
In some forms of FGM the vaginal opening is almost entirely closed up and must be re-opened for childbirth. In some places it is the custom to stich it back up again afterwards. I suspect that might be what he is accused of doing.http://www.unfpa.org/gender/practices2.htm#6
The other defendant is accused of "intentionally encouraging an offence of female genital mutilation". I'm in favour of mentally competent adults being allowed to mutilate themselves in any way they like, so for me FGM is mostly a consent issue. I wonder if the other defendant is a relative of the woman, and I wonder whether the whistle was blown by the woman or by other medical staff. Complicated. Maybe not so complicated in law.
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