6th February 2025 marks the International Day of Zero Tolerance Against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). FGM involves the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia for non-medical reasons. The physical and psychological impact of FGM can be vast and long lasting. FGM is an issue that affects women and girls worldwide, and the United Nations claim that over 200 million women and girls who are alive today have undergone FGM.
At Manchester Met, we are raising awareness of FGM amongst future health and education professionals with an event on the ground floor of the Brooks building on the 6th February between 1pm - 4pm in collaboration with the Halo Project. Teachers, nurses, social workers, and other health and education professionals can play a key role in identifying signs of FGM in young girls and women, and ensuring appropriate support and action is put in place. In England and Wales, teachers and health and social care professionals have a mandatory duty to report if they notice signs, or have been made aware, that a child under the age of 18 has undergone FGM. It is illegal to carry out FGM in the UK, or for UK nationals and residents to facilitate FGM overseas.
Alongside raising awareness with future professionals, representatives from across our community are highlighting why it is important to them to raise awareness of FGM, and the support that they can offer. You can read these testimonies below:
Student Welfare Team, Chloe Topley: We are running the event on the 6th February to raise awareness of FGM, particularly amongst future professionals. This is important to our service, as we are committed to ensuring that anybody who has experienced any form of abuse or violence is aware of their support options. In line with this, we want to let staff and students know that FGM is something that can be disclosed via our disclosure platform Report & Support. If a student chooses to use Report & Support, a member of the Student Welfare Team will reach out to them to discuss support and the options available to them - this may be considering other internal services that we can refer to, as well as looking at external services who can provide specialist support in relation to FGM. We would also speak with you about any impact on your studies and considerations that may need to be taken in relation to this. If a staff member uses Report & Support to seek support for themselves, they will be allocated a Respect at Work Advisor to discuss their disclosure.
Senior Lecturer in Law, Dr Maz Idriss: As a senior lecturer at Manchester Law School, it is important to embed initiatives challenging violence against women within the legal curriculum, in order to raise awareness of the different types of violence women experience and how we, as a society, can support victims. Within my own law modules, I include questions related to honour-based abuse, forced marriages and FGM, both in short essays and for longer dissertations, that students can then choose to answer - and students quickly realise that cases of domestic abuse can cover all of these different areas - cases of domestic abuse can be multifaceted and include many forms of abuse. This is really important for our students to realise because improving their knowledge will help them to identify cases in real life and to act swiftly when it comes to intervention, be it as support workers, family (civil) lawyers or criminal lawyers. FGM is a crime and a serious violation of women's human rights. We must stop it, but we also teach our law students that law alone, though very important, is not enough - we also need social justice responses and education within our local communities, that such practices are harmful and against the law. Eradicating FGM will take a concerted effort from everyone, with a holistic approach in order to bring about positive progress and tackling gender inequalities.
Christian Chaplain, Beth Williams: Supporting zero tolerance against FGM is extremely important so that we recognise discrimination against women and girls and the violation of their human rights. As a chaplain on campus, I am here to support all students. As a female chaplain on campus my hope is to also challenge discrimination against women, empower, and encourage women on campus alongside being a listening ear. I’m aware of the sensitive nature and experiences of women and FGM and offer an open and welcoming space for students to share, be listened to, feel supported, and find further support where needed.
Halo Project: The work we do at the Halo Project is greatly supported by the students at our Student Halo Hubs. The fantastic fundraising, and raising awareness that they do is instrumental to eradicating the hidden harms on campus. At this time of year, on the International Day of Zero Tolerance Against FGM, we are proud of the work students do in order to campaign and educate their peers - both in person and the work they do via social media.
If you need to access support in relation to FGM, please see services below:
Internal to the university:
Counselling, Mental Health, and Wellbeing Service
Inclusion & Disability Service
External to the university:
NESTAC - Greater Manchester based service
If anybody is at immediate risk of harm, please contact the Police on 999.