We All Need to Be Alert to the Summer Holiday FGM Risk to Children

When you think of child abuse you don't usually associate it with a parent who thinks they are doing something in the best interests of their child - quite the opposite.

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a very serious form of child abuse - but many parents in communities which practice FGM believe what they are doing is in the best interests of their child - in their minds not to have a child 'cut' would harm their prospects of marriage and would make them a bad mother.

There is no excuse for this practice - FGM is a harrowing ordeal for a child and sadly we know this is the exact time of year parents are planning to take their young daughters abroad to subject them to it. Parents often take advantage of the six week holidays because the child's absence from school won't be spotted and they believe this gives them time to recover - but they fail to actually understand the long lasting physical and psychological effects of this illegal procedure.


http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/john-cameron/summer-fgm-risk-to-children_b_7769398.html?utm_hp_ref=uk