The final item of business is a members’ business debate on motion S4M-15275, in the name of Margaret McCulloch, on international day of zero tolerance for female genital mutilation. The debate will be concluded without any question being put.
Motion debated,
That the Parliament notes that 6 February is International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation; considers that female genital mutilation (FGM) is recognised internationally as a violation of the human rights of women and girls, in which their genitals are injured or altered for non-medical reasons; understands that an estimated 140 million women and girls alive today have undergone some form of FGM; welcomes a growing determination around the world to eliminate FGM and support victims of this form of gender-based violence; further notes the development of a national FGM action plan in Scotland, and notes the aspiration to a world in which this extreme form of discrimination against women and girls is eradicated once and for all.
17:09
I thank all members who have supported the motion and allowed me to bring the issue of female genital mutilation to the chamber. I also thank all the organisations and activists who have committed so much of their time to raising awareness of FGM not just among the wider public and in front-line services, but among members, ministers, researchers and staff in the Parliament. I am pleased that some of those people have joined us in the public gallery.
This might be the last opportunity that we have to debate FGM in a plenary session, but it is certainly not the first time that the Parliament has addressed the issue. Through members’ business debates, Government debates, parliamentary questions and committee sessions, a number of members from across the Parliament—Kenny Gibson, Christina McKelvie, Jenny Marra and Patricia Ferguson, to name but a few—have taken an interest in the important issue of FGM.
In this session in particular, there has been a renewed focus on the issues that surround FGM and welcome progress towards the prevention and elimination of that appalling form of discrimination. In the past few days, people throughout the country and around the world—from policy makers in Assemblies and Parliaments such as the Scottish Parliament to those who work on the front line in countries in which there is a practising population to activists and agitators worldwide who are campaigning for change—have observed the international day of zero tolerance for female genital mutilation.
The international day of zero tolerance for FGM was a day for reflection, to think of victims, and to commemorate those who have been excluded, injured or even killed due to the ignorance and inequality that lie behind FGM. It was a day for education to raise awareness so that the world can know what that injustice is and why it must be stopped. Most important, it was a day for action, to say “No more”, to put forward solutions and to galvanise the work of charities, activists, non-governmental organisations and Governments in a drive to end that form of abuse.
FGM is an extreme form of gender-based discrimination. It is an act of violence against women and girls, a violation of their bodies and a violation of their human rights. UNICEF has estimated that more than 120 million women and girls worldwide live with the consequences of FGM. They are mainly in 29 African countries, where the practising populations are high, and in areas such as Kurdistan, Iraq and Egypt. The World Health Organization places that figure at around 140 million, and the most recent United Nations figures suggest that it could even be as high as 200 million.
Mass migration and cross-border travel bring opportunities to our society, but they also mean that policy makers here must confront unfamiliar challenges from other cultures, such as FGM.
For clarity, FGM is a form of abuse in which women’s and girls’ genitals are injured and altered for non-medical reasons. That is an important point. There is no medical justification for it, and nor does it have any basis in religion. It is a cultural practice that is rooted in patriarchy and gender inequality.
In some cultures, FGM is seen as a prerequisite for marriage. It is seen as a way of preserving a girl’s chastity before marriage and a woman’s faithfulness afterwards. The pressure to undergo FGM in societies in which marriage is a means of finding social acceptance and economic security can be severe. The stigma of not having undergone it can be overwhelming. In meetings that I have held in my capacity as convener of the Equal Opportunities Committee, I have heard about young girls who had resisted being cut being forced into the most extreme and disturbing forms of FGM by those who were closest to them. That is another important point.
There are different forms of FGM. The World Health Organization recognises four categories. Type 1 mainly involves the partial or total removal of the clitoris. Type 2 involves excision, and again involves partial or total removal of the clitoris as well as the partial or total removal of the labia. Type 3 is infibulation, which involves narrowing the orifice and creating a seal by cutting and repositioning the labia with or without cutting the clitoris. Type 4 covers all other procedures, including pricking and burning, and some of the most extreme and disturbing forms of FGM.
Needless to say, there are no health benefits in any of those procedures; they serve only to injure and to harm. Victims can experience pain, bleeding, shock, infection and, in the longer term, abscesses, cysts, adhesions and neuromas. Type 3 FGM can cause further complications such as reproductive tract infections and incontinence. Many women who are cut experience chronic pain, recurring infections for the rest of their lives, depression and post-traumatic stress. The death rate among babies during and immediately after childbirth is higher for those born to mothers who undergo some kind of FGM.
Three million women and girls are cut every year. It has to stop. The Scottish Government has launched a national action plan for FGM, which sets out the steps that the Government, its agencies and its partners can take to prevent and, we hope, eradicate this form of abuse. It comes in the wake of “Equally Safe”, which is the joint strategy of the Scottish Government and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities on the prevention and elimination of violence against women.
Doing more to raise awareness, to support the organisations that work with victims and to train health and social work professionals to spot the signs of FGM could be transformative for those who are at risk or who have undergone FGM and need support. We also need to reach out to those who are suffering and those who are at risk in other countries. The challenge of FGM is global. We must rise to the challenge not as one nation but as part of an international community.
Nobody should have to endure this abuse. We must do all that we can to close the gap between the world that we have, in which millions are cut every year, and the world that we want, in which FGM is a thing of the past. No injustice can last forever. As pernicious as this inequality is, I believe that when words become deeds and ideas lead to action, change will come. This generation can—and must—end FGM.
17:17
I congratulate Margaret McCulloch on securing this debate on an issue that I have long been concerned about, as she pointed out in her speech. Indeed, nearly 15 years ago I lodged a motion condemning female genital mutilation and I am shocked and horrified that, as Margaret McCulloch said, it continues across the globe on such a vast scale.
FGM is clearly a fundamental violation of human rights. Along with the trauma and pain that it puts young women through, its lasting effects can include cysts, infertility, infections and increased risk of new-born deaths due to complications with childbirth. Additionally, in certain instances, the procedure has been known to cause death. When one considers that it is often inflicted on women by their closest relatives—people whom they have known and trusted all their lives—it is obvious that psychological problems and depression can also follow.
FGM is a sign of deep-rooted inequality between the sexes in the societies in which it is practised, and it is an example of great misogyny and discrimination against girls and women. FGM is often done in certain cultures to prevent women from having sex outside of marriage and to keep them pure for their husbands—which is a double standard, as similar practice is of course not expected from men who belong to such patriarchal societies. Police Scotland said:
“FGM is a social convention ... the social pressure to conform to what others do and have been doing is a strong motivation to perpetuate the practice.”
Since the practice is almost always carried out on girls, it is a violation of not only human rights but the rights of children. The violation that these girls and women are put through is a horror that we must vigorously oppose and educate against.
Scotland banned the practice of FGM in 1985 and it has created policies to stop the further spread of abuse among those minority communities in which it is commonplace in their own countries. Such abuse will result in the prosecution of anyone who performs the procedure or tries to coerce a young girl into having the procedure performed on them. For example, a father or grandfather can be tried in court for strongly encouraging a young girl to receive the procedure, even though he may not have performed it himself.
There must be zero tolerance of such practices. We cannot be seen to have any form of soft stance on this matter. The trauma that millions of girls and women all over the world have to endure is quite simply unimaginable. Having days such as the international day of zero tolerance for female genital mutilation, which took place four days ago, allows Scotland and countries around the globe to unite in showing that we will not allow this abhorrent practice to continue.
Often, women or girls who have gone through this horrific torture feel too scared or ashamed to speak out about the terror that they have faced as they face pressure from within their cultural group to remain silent and often fear the stigma that could be attached to them by those who do not share their cultural identity. The international day of zero tolerance for female genital mutilation is therefore also a time to make it clear that the people who have been through such torture can find a safe place here in Scotland.
I applaud the efforts of various charities throughout Scotland to provide support and training for victims. For example, Rape Crisis Glasgow, which thanked the Scottish Government for providing assistance to survivors of FGM, has just this past week set up a group that already helps at least 10 women. Isabelle Kerr, the manager at Rape Crisis Glasgow, said:
“This is giving women the chance to come together and support each other, and has also given us the chance to work with the women on building confidence and self-esteem, on their health and wellbeing, and on managing the symptoms of their trauma.”
I echo Margaret McCulloch in hoping that we all live to see a world in which this extreme form of discrimination against women and girls is eradicated once and for all. I have a mother, a wife, a daughter and a sister, and I could not possibly imagine such horrors happening to any of them. I hope we will continue to have a Scotland where prevention, protection, services and support are provided to all victims of FGM.
17:21
I commend Margaret McCulloch for taking this opportunity to mark the international day of zero tolerance for female genital mutilation—a practice that infringes the basic human rights and health of women across the world.
This cruel practice, which is often carried out with crude tools and without anaesthetic, has no basis in medical necessity but is embedded in a long-standing cultural system that is deeply patriarchal. As such, in seeking to intervene and change attitudes in communities where the practice is present, we must ensure that any Scottish action plan takes a consultative approach, engaging with knowledgeable charities and community leaders as much as possible. Only through working with communities will we be able to identify where this most violent and cruel form of repression is prevalent, raise awareness and punish perpetrators.
All women have a human right to feel safe within their families and as part of society as a whole. Safety means equality, security and absolute freedom over their own bodies and wellbeing. “Equally Safe: Scotland’s strategy for preventing and eradicating violence against women and girls” encapsulates those rights and shows how policies can be put in place to tackle all forms of violence, repression and abuse of women. FGM is included, but in light of reports both here and throughout the United Kingdom it is only right that we as a Parliament look to develop a more targeted and long-term action plan, and I welcome the publication of the draft for consultation last week. It looks to prevent future mutilation by protecting young girls who are at risk while also seeking to provide accessible and anonymous support for women who are trying to survive with physical and mental scars.
One such survivor, Nimco Ali, was cut as a seven-year-old while on holiday in Djibouti on the Horn of Africa. She set up the Daughters of Eve charity, which works to protect women from FGM, and she shared her experience in advance of zero tolerance day:
“FGM is a brutal practice, but it is also a very simple one to end. If you stop one woman having FGM done to her then you break that link and prevent it being done to the next generation. I came from a family that was 100% FGM and that has gone down to zero in a generation. It is something that can be ended. We are finally shaking the taboo of FGM, but we have to be vigilant and cannot be complacent.”
Ms Ali wants FGM to be discussed as part of mandatory sexual and relationship education classes at schools in England. I do not see why Scotland should be any different, and I would welcome the minister commenting on that. Children of all backgrounds have the capacity to break the cycle, and their awareness and support of classmates can help to change this cruel cultural norm.
The draft action plan states:
“FGM will continue to be a problem in Scotland until communities themselves choose to abandon the practice and we recognise that in order to find a solution to eradicate FGM, working with potentially affected communities is vital to breaking the cycle of violence.”
I pay tribute to the organisations that work with those communities in Scotland to achieve eradication.
The Scottish Refugee Council report “Tackling Female Genital Mutilation in Scotland: A Scottish model of intervention” looked at existing census data and sought to provide a picture, albeit limited, of the extent of the risk to communities that are living here now. The findings are highlighted in the draft action plan. There are approximately 24,000 men, women and children living in Scotland who were born in a country that is affected to some extent by FGM. There are communities that are potentially affected by FGM in every Scottish local authority area—the largest such communities are in Glasgow, Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Dundee, in that order. Some 2,750 girls were born in Scotland to mothers who were born in an FGM-practising country between 2001 and 2012.
That is the scale of the potential problem, but we can eradicate FGM in Scotland by taking a consultative approach that is mindful of the many cultural factors that I mentioned. No woman should feel at risk, and no child should feel that they are powerless over their own body. Such abuse can never be tolerated and should never be the norm for any community. The equality and human rights of all womankind demand that all nations stand as one against this cruel practice, on zero tolerance day and every other day.
17:25
I am pleased to contribute to this debate to mark international day of zero tolerance for female genital mutilation, and I pay tribute to Margaret McCulloch for securing the parliamentary time for this important and deeply disturbing issue.
The campaign against FGM was originally an African-led movement, but awareness of FGM has greatly increased in recent years, thanks to the tireless efforts of campaigners such as those to whom Malcolm Chisholm referred, who have brought this hidden horror out of the shadows.
The horrific experience of FGM has psychological and physical aftershocks that reverberate for many girls, from adolescence to adulthood. It is understandable that girls and women who feel shamed by the stigma and traumatised into silence by what has happened to them are often reluctant to speak out about their ordeals.
However, some survivors have shared their experiences. Their accounts shake us to the very core. Girls in their infancy—trusting, unknowing and unable to defend themselves—are typically circumcised with a range of implements, without anaesthesia, in a non-sterile environment, and with no appropriate aftercare. Some girls bleed to death. Others are left with debilitating pain and complications that afflict them for the rest of their lives.
Some parents are complicit in this so-called rite of passage. Others have no idea what their daughters have been subjected to. The perpetrator is often someone who is in a position of trust in the family or local community—someone whom a child would not instinctively fear. Victims are reassured with meaningless platitudes about favourable prospects and promises of good husbands.
FGM is not a rite of passage. On the contrary, it is a gross violation of human rights and of the very essence of womanhood.
In the United Kingdom, a woman is barbarically cut every 96 minutes—indeed, the situation is feared to be much worse. FGM is a silent and often unreported crime, so we must assume that the figure is considerably higher.
I applaud the UK Government and the Scottish Government for their efforts and initiatives to eliminate this horrendous practice in our home nations. It is my sincere hope that we can build on that momentum in the months and years to come.
Figures from UNICEF show that the scale of FGM across the globe is much worse than international organisations first thought. Previously, it was estimated that 125 million girls worldwide had been cut, but in the past few days UNICEF disclosed that that number is shockingly higher and closer to 200 million. UNICEF warns that, with increasing population growth, the number of girls and women who undergo FGM will rise significantly over the next 15 years. That is an appalling prospect.
Malian musician and FGM survivor Inna Modja bravely shared her experience of cutting and its aftermath with the United Nations last Saturday. She said:
“I felt that I would never become a woman because I had something missing and I wasn’t worth it. It took a lot away from what I could achieve as a teenager and what I could realize as a teenager. So I lost my identity when I went through FGM. I didn’t know who I was. I didn’t know ... how strong I could be because cutting me was telling me that I’m not good enough.”
FGM dates back to antiquity. Millions upon millions of women have been subjected to it, have suffered from it and have been devalued by it. We now have an opportunity to empower and protect not just a new generation of women but their children and their children’s children.
This is our call to action. Let us unite to end a barbaric anachronism and, in doing so, let us give hope to women, their daughters and the unborn girls of the future.
17:30
I thank Margaret McCulloch for securing the debate. The Equal Opportunities Committee was very keen that we should have a debate, although there was not normal committee time available in the chamber. Most committee members will speak in the debate. Sandra White apologises for not being here: she had another commitment that she could not get out of.
It is not the easiest topic to speak about, but I believe that we have a duty to speak about it, and that men in particular have a duty to speak about it and not to claim that we have no responsibility.
One of the main facts that the committee learned is that it is very difficult to find out the facts of what is happening in Scotland today. In the past, we would have assumed that FGM was restricted mainly to the 29 or so countries where it is most commonly practised, and perhaps to the additional countries to which a significant minority had migrated from those countries.
In the past, that would not have included Scotland to any real extent, but things have changed. In Scotland, we have a much more diverse population than we used to have, and I very much welcome that. We gain from a whole variety of new Scots, including, in my experience, African Christians who are involved in churches and bringing a real enthusiasm.
However, alongside that positive input from other cultures, there can be more negative practices appearing and FGM is certainly one of those. In Scotland’s national action plan, the wording on pages 11 and 12 is couched very carefully and wisely under the heading “FGM in the Scottish Context”.
“There are no clear and robust figures for the prevalence of FGM in Scotland because of the hidden nature of the crime. In its report, Tackling FGM in Scotland - towards a Scottish model of intervention, the Scottish Refugee Council analysed ... data. ... the report did not seek to determine ‘prevalence’ of FGM, but rather found that ... there were 23,979 men, women and children born in one of the 29 countries identified by UNICEF (2013) as an ‘FGM-practising country’, living in Scotland in 2011.”
It also says that
“2,750 girls were born in Scotland to mothers born in an FGM-practising country between 2001 and 2012.”
This was very much the line from witnesses who the committee heard from in our evidence sessions. However, we also heard from some working in the sector that they are virtually certain that cutting is being carried out, in Glasgow and Edinburgh at least. Perhaps more common is the tendency for girls to be taken back by their families to the country of their roots for the procedure to be carried out there, with the parents often being under considerable family pressure.
Clearly, legislation is part of the answer, but we also heard of innovative ways of approaching the issue, for example by attempting to get parents to sign a certificate promising not to allow FGM to be carried out on their daughters. That might have no legal weight, but it can make a difference to the parents’ own attitude and can strengthen their resolve when under pressure from extended family.
Last Tuesday, we had a very useful event hosted by the committee at which Margaret McCulloch, Alex Neil and representatives of some of those tackling the issue spoke. As always, it was particularly moving to hear from survivors of FGM speaking about some of their personal experiences. I found it helpful to hear from a young guy from an African background whose mother had, perhaps unusually, discussed it with him and who has since become passionate about educating his peers who come from a similar background.
It is useful to emphasise, as Margaret McCulloch also did, that FGM is a cultural practice that does not have any basis in any religion. It is clear that there is a huge difference between FGM and male circumcision. The two are not comparable and there are both health and religious arguments for male circumcision that are certainly not replicated for FGM.
I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to speak in the debate. The committee members unanimously felt that we would like to raise the issue in the chamber. My hope is that both the Parliament and the Government will continue to treat FGM with the seriousness it deserves.
17:34
I, too, congratulate Margaret McCulloch on securing the debate. I recognise her commitment to the issue, as well as the commitment of many other members, including Kenneth Gibson. I also thank the Scottish Refugee Council, which has contributed to the debate. Holding international days is of great importance, because it is a good way to highlight issues. As Annabel Goldie said, with 200 million women affected across the world, the issue of female genital mutilation certainly needs to be highlighted.
We know that many problems can be resolved by taking a gradualist approach. That is not the case with this issue. Zero tolerance is the only way to deal with it. I look forward to the day when society sees this vile practice as being a total aberration. In the meantime, we are dealing with a violation of human rights, and I am always keen to take a rights-based approach to matters. As has been said many times, the topic of injuring genitals is often difficult to talk about. As Margaret McCulloch said, such behaviour is extreme and disturbing. We are talking about violence against women and girls; it is gender inequality.
I am delighted that Scotland’s national action plan is in place, and it is important that the Scottish Government works with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities on that. Public service workers are often at the front line of how we can address the issue, and a significant number of those are medical staff. The action plan is about prevention, protection and providing services and support.
Malcolm Chisholm was entirely right to say that the issue is not only for Scotland, the UK or the European Union to deal with; it is for the world to deal with.
The proposal in the action plan to have access to “informed mental health services” jumped out at me. There is a veil of secrecy and mystery around female genital mutilation; as my late mother used to say, you only know what you know. It is very challenging for people to understand all the different aspects of the issue. As someone said, the mental health impact of living with the consequences of FGM is important, so the practitioner who is dealing with such cases must absolutely understand what is involved.
We must deal with what is a significant breach of trust. We have heard FGM being called euphemisms such as “children being taken on holiday”. If people feel that there is breach of trust in their family, that is significant for their family relationship in the years ahead.
As has been said, there is a great deal of discomfort in reading or hearing about the topic, let alone in discussing it, but we must. It will not surprise anyone to hear me say this, because I say it about a number of issues, but FGM is not exclusively an urban issue. I know that no one is saying that. The density of population in urban areas means that there may be services there, but support must be provided around the country, not least because we know that there are challenges for ethnic minority individuals living in rural communities.
We know that the strategy’s overall aim is to prevent and eradicate violence against women and girls. That is key. The issue is about power and abusive relationships. As has been said, we know that such a thing would not happen to men. It is gender-based violence. Males have an important role to play.
As an MSP, I have the great privilege to meet people. It was a real privilege to meet the survivors of female genital mutilation and to hear their courage and the manner in which they spoke about it. I found that experience humbling.
First and foremost, we must ensure that there is respect for every individual. We must have a rights-based approach to everything. The abuse must end. Let us all fight together for the eradication of FGM.
17:38
Like John Finnie, I am a member of the Equal Opportunities Committee. I repeat his words that it has very much been a privilege to be involved in the debate and to see the progress that the Scottish Government is making and all that the third sector organisations are doing to tackle the problem. I, too, thank Margaret McCulloch for securing the debate. It is so important that we debate it here.
Of course, in February last year we debated a Scottish Government motion on the international day of zero tolerance to female genital mutilation. The motion in the name of Alex Neil, the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Communities and Pensioners’ Rights, asked the Parliament to note
“the Scottish Government’s commitment to fund a programme of work to tackle FGM in Scotland and protect those women and girls at risk of harm from this human rights abuse”.
I am delighted that the cabinet secretary launched the action plan last week. In my speech at last year’s debate, I said that we should not call this unacceptable and illegal practice by its abbreviation, FGM. At the time, I encouraged everyone to speak the term in full—female genital mutilation—because that says what it is. That is so important. I would like the minister to reflect on what we write and what we say in that regard.
Another point that I developed last year was the role of men in communities where female genital mutilation is a reality. I said that men must not be excluded from considerations but must be seen as part of the solution in ending that unacceptable and illegal practice.
I am delighted that, one year on, the fantastic work of the my voice project has really understood the role of men. Let me read from a flyer inviting people to participate in that project:
“Are you a man who is from a community or ethnic group potentially affected by Female Genital Mutilation or cutting ... or by female circumcision? Are you living in Scotland? We would love you to get involved in a new project we are starting called MY Voice.”
That project is very important. It has been set up with the support of the Scottish Government in collaboration with the Dignity Alert Research Forum, Roshni and the Institute for International Health and Development at Queen Margaret University. I encourage the minister to look at its research. I know that it is a bit late to ask, but I would love for the research to be published, but only after the election and not during purdah, to ensure that it gets all the coverage that it should get.
As I have said from the outset, it is crucial to work with men to develop services and support for communities that are affected by female genital mutilation. John Mason talked about the fantastic event that was organised by the Equal Opportunities Committee last week. A young man called Oyedepo Olalekun was truly inspirational. He told us how important the role of fathers, sons and husbands was, and he said that they often have no idea what is happening. Kenny Gibson said earlier that this practice occurs in patriarchal cultures. That may have been so at the start, but now the men are very much isolated from it. They do not realise that, in the modern-day world, it is happening to women. The action plan talks about including men, women and young people, but I would again encourage the minister to make sure that men are seen as key to the solution to the problem.
To conclude, I would like to make a historical point. Some of the contributions have said that this is a problem from other cultures and countries. Let me read from the Medical Times and Gazette:
“That the performance of clitoridectomy on a woman without her knowledge and consent ... is an offence against Medical ethics, needs not to be said. We suspect it is amenable to the criminal law of the land.”
That is from an article that was written in London in April 1867, denouncing a practice that was wrongly claimed to treat many conditions, including menstrual pains, bladder problems, epilepsy, insanity, spinal irritation, masturbation and even lesbianism.
It did not end there. In The American Journal of Clinical Medicine, half a century later, in June 1915, we can read that circumcision in the female is necessary and see the guidelines for performing it. We know that the practice survived in the United States for another 50 years and stopped only in the 1960s. White Christian women in America who are alive today have been mutilated in this way. Kenny Gibson says that he would not want his mother or wife to be involved with the practice, but maybe your grandmother was. Maybe your great-grandmother was.
It is something that we have to understand. We have to understand the past before we pass judgment on other cultures. Female genital mutilation has been a criminal offence in Scotland only since 1985. We should know our own history of female genital mutilation to better understand what is happening today.
Let boys and girls, men and women know about the reality and the horror of female genital mutilation, and let us eradicate it together.
17:44
Some battles constantly need to be refought because they seem to re-emerge each generation. I was going to remark on the fact that the practice being made illegal in 1985 and the closing of the loophole in the law in 2015 were separated by 30 years and on the fact that we still need to have the debate, to take the action and to produce the action plan, but Christian Allard suggested—indeed, he quoted material that shows it—that the issue has been dealt with and argued over for a much longer period.
The fact that we are here and have got as far as we have in exposing the issue, to the extent that we have an international day, is testament to the efforts of everybody who is working in communities around Scotland and internationally, as well as here in Parliament, to continue to highlight it. Margaret McCulloch paid tribute to some of the many members who have done so for some time.
Margaret McCulloch was right to place the issue in the context of gender violence. Female genital mutilation is a form of structural gender violence, because of the way in which expectations are placed on people in the societies and cultures in which it is practised and the things that are demanded of them. The practice is not tied to religion although, sadly, there are those who seek to cite religion falsely to justify it. It is not tied to a particular continent or even a region. John Mason mentioned the figure of 29 countries, but there are local differences within countries. FGM is the manifestation of gender violence in particular societies and cultures, and gender violence is not acceptable wherever it takes place.
The procedure is often carried out by close friends. People even gain status as a result of their participation in the activity. I have read accounts that tell of the pressure that is involved—not just to undergo female genital mutilation but to perpetrate it or to support relatives to go through it. We could say that people in that position are complicit, but they, too, are under threat and greatly oppressed. They are forced to do things as a result of a cultural practice that should have been binned a long time ago. Those who do not take part are stigmatised; they are seen as “unclean”. Such words are common in accounts of the practice. Those who reject FGM are often treated less favourably as a result, while those who suffer it experience health problems that are often lifelong.
What is terrifying is that, in some cases, FGM is not even recognised as a practice. The phrase “FGM” is unfamiliar to many. In the communities in which the practice continues, it has become so normalised that it seems to be just a natural part of the growing-up process. It is a deep challenge to deal with that in an ingrained way. If we look back at the exposition of the issue 100 years ago, we can be sure that it fell far short of anything that could be described as culturally sensitive. It is an ever-present danger that those who are most at risk will be pushed further away by our well-intended attempts to help them.
Malcolm Chisholm identified the importance of partnership and sensitivity, and I totally agree. That has been the approach that we have taken in the national action plan; we have reflected the need to involve everybody. Given that we are talking about potentially asking people to criminalise their own families, it is inevitable that that will be difficult and sensitive. Societal standards and attitudes can often best be challenged by people inside those societies who are expressing concern and showing leadership. We should support them to be champions for progress and reform.
In one of the Parliament’s previous debates on the subject, and in consideration of the issue by the Equal Opportunities Committee, of which I am an alumnus, I remember mention being made of a passport that could be shown by family members who had come under pressure to put their children forward for the procedure—often abroad—which would say, “If you do this, you will cause severe consequences for me.” Such a scheme is now operating from England and Scotland, and some of the early response from England has been quite positive.
Even though we are doing quite a lot, we must keep moving forward. We need to keep refighting the battle. We must continue to support people in the on-going challenge. That is why we have the national action plan and have identified further things that we want to do.
We must redouble our efforts with front-line staff. The action plan identifies that we will have our multi-agency national guidance soon—in early 2016. There is also a stage beyond that to provide even more information, so that people who work at the front line can identify the signs.
There will be a new international classification of diseases code to clarify reporting, to try to get into the system a clear understanding of how many instances are happening and to work on awareness. There is also a recommendation that
“All statutory agencies have at least one named professional with expertise on FGM”.
To answer the point that Malcolm Chisholm raised about considering legislation, we are looking at the provisions on female genital mutilation that have come into force in England and Wales and we have commissioned a community-based organisation—again, partnership is the key—to consult a cross-section of the communities so that we ascertain their views and see what we can do.
Even though we have not put a mandatory duty in legislation in Scotland, this is clearly a child protection issue—it is covered by that legislation and that work. We want to continue to support organisations and agencies across Scotland to deal with the issue and to support the champions for change in their own society.
We can look at the work that has happened to continually draw the issue into the limelight not just here but around the world, where there are examples of great societal change. Kenya in particular has taken great action.
Our resolve is clear in this Government; our resolve is clear in this Parliament; and our resolve is clear in this society. Around the world, resolve is growing. That is a good place to be in, and we will continue to work in partnership with everyone around the chamber and around the country to tackle the scourge of female genital mutilation.
Meeting closed at 17:51.Previous
Decision Time