Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG): Legal and Ethical Issues Flashcards
What is the definition of female genital mutilation?
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) comprises all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia,
or other injury to the female genital organs for cultural or non-medical reasons.
What is type 1 FGM?
Clitoridectomy: partial or total removal of the clitoris and, in very rare cases, only the prepuce
What is type 2 FGM?
Type 2 – Excision: partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia minora, with or without excision of the labia majora
What is type 3 FGM?
Infibulation: narrowing of the vaginal opening through the creation of a covering seal. The seal is formed by cutting and repositioning the inner, or outer, labia, with or without removal of the clitoris. Sometimes referred to as Pharaonic circumcision
What is type 4 FGM?
Type 4 – Other: all other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for non-medical purposes, e.g. pricking, piercing, incising, scraping and cauterising the genital area.
What is De-infibulation?
(sometimes known as or referred to as deinfibulation or defibulation or FGM reversal): The surgical procedure to open up the closed vagina of FGM type 3
- Can be done in last stage of pregnancy
- Can also be done in 2nd stage of pregnancy
What is re-infibulation?
(sometimes known as or referred to as reinfibulation or re-suturing): The re-stitching of FGM type 3 to re-close the vagina again after childbirth [illegal in the UK and constitutes as FGM]
What is the preferred terms to describe this?
- FGM for medical use
- Cutting/female circumcision for lay
What are some of the used justifications for FGM?
- Preservation of virginity and chastity
- Religion, in the mistaken belief that it is a religious requirement
- Social acceptance
- Fear of social exclusion
- To ensure the girl is marriageable or to improve marriage prospect
- Hygiene and cleanliness
- Increasing sexual pleasure for the male
- Family honour
- Enhancing fertility
What age is FGM normally carried out?
- Mostly carried out on young girls sometime between birth and age 15, and occasionally on adult women.
- The age at which FGM happens is different in different communities and areas, and is linked to the reasons for carrying it out.
- The most common age is between four and ten, although reports suggest that the average age is falling in some areas
Who performs the FGM?
Often carried out by traditional cutters or ‘circumcisers’. These women will often have a very respected role within the community. The role is often passed down from mother to daughter.
BUT
More than 18% of FGM is carried out by healthcare workers
Increasing trend towards medicalisation appearing (including in countries where there are laws against FGM)
What are the short term impacts of FGM?
- severe pain and shock
- infection
- injury to adjacent tissues
- sprains, dislocations, broken bones or internal injuries from being restrained
- immediate fatal haemorrhaging
- infection by blood borne virus
What are long term impacts of FGM?
- urine retention and difficulties in menstruation
- uterine, vaginal and pelvic infections
- cysts and neuromas
- complications in pregnancy and childbirth
- increased risk of fistula
- on-going impact of trauma / PTSD
- sexual dysfunction
Physcological effects of FGM?
- §Post traumatic symptoms
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Fear of Intimacy
- Loss of Trust
- Unresolved Anger
- Nightmares
- Flashbacks – especially associated with sexual intercourse and childbirth
What does the law saw about FGM?
- Has been an offence since 1985
- Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation (Scotland) Act 2005
Offence of female genital mutilation
(1) A person who performs an action mentioned in subsection (2) in relation to the whole or any part of the labia majora, labia minora, prepuce of the clitoris, clitoris or vagina of another person is guilty of an offence.
(2) Those actions are—
- excising it;
- infibulating it; or
- otherwise mutilating it.
