New initiative against genital mutilation

“FGM is not something women opt to have. As part of the culture in many Muslim countries, young girls are pinned down and their genitals are removed with a razor. there are 4 different types which range in severity. These girls are then sown back up, with sometimes only a minute hole left to allow for menstruation. Many of these girls are severely traumatised and have numerous medical problems as a result of dirty equipment. It used to be that many girls would be taken out of the country to have this done, however this practice now goes on in the UK, and yes it happens in Bristol too. People do not come forward because of how close knit the Muslim communities are. If you really want to know more (prepare to be shocked) have a look at the FGM information on the World Health Organization website.”

“This is cultural diversity, and like arranged marriages, honour killings, etc etc etc is something we have to get used to in the UK.
The offenders McCarthy refers to are presumably family members, and if 2,000 women are at risk, then the "communities" themselves must share the guilt for choosing to pick and choose how much they embrace their hosts values.”

“I really can't see the appeal in having ones sexual organs chopped off. Why do these women do it? What drives them? We need to look at the appeal of such actions. As the artictical says there are over 2000 women and girls who are thought to be in danger. Who are these people? Surely if they can be identified they can be warned that they run the risk of never knowing what it is like to orgasm!!”

“I wonder how much the reluctance to prosecute in cases of FGM has in common with the reluctance to prosecute Pakistani child abusers in Lancashire?

Let's be clear - that reluctance doesn't stem from the communities involved, but from police and social workers who seem afraid to deal with crime in these communities. Anti-racism is about equal rights, not about allowing ethnic minorities to carry out criminal acts.”

“Strange that the article doesn't point out that FGM is an African/Middle Eastern practice. Is it not politically correct to print this?”

“"For too long, young girls and women have become victims of this horrendous crime, with the authorities unable to prosecute those responsible."

Unable or just unwilling? There have been FGM prosecutions in other countries, but not in the UK. Looks to me like the police have not wanted to get their hands dirty and risk angering a minority community for what they perceive to be a "minor" crime.

TBH if other comments here are anything to go by the level of ignorance surrounding this is pretty high (no, it's not "copied from the internet", FGM and male circumcision are massively different things, etc.)
Ignorance + apathy = inaction.”

“Whilst this is a worthy cause and I know this is a widespread problem especially abroad - I am very cynical about Macarthy. She normally seems to make quite a lot of noise but not really do much productive.

To give her argument a bit of context it would be good to know how many people it actually effects rather than using a 'throwaway' statistic”

“Whilst she is at it. Can she also do something about the cruelty and of docking the tails of some breeds of dogs. It is totally unnecessary.”

“I wholeheartedly support the efforts of kerry and her team! What I would love is to see boys given the same rights as girls to genital integrity under the law. EVERYONE should be protected from having parts of their bodies removed without informed consent unless there is a clear medical reason.”

“I have never met anyone or know anyone who this has happened to. I have seen heard about it on TV. But I would imagine that once is gone its gone and maybe the only comfort for victims is some antibiotics for any infection or some savlon and TCP”