FGM Awareness & Prevention Training

FGM is ILLEGAL and classed as child abuse in the UK. It is often performed to young girls between the age of four and eight, to ensure it is before puberty. The aim of FGM is to inhibit women's sexual feelings. 

FGM stands for Female Genital Mutilation. This is the operation woman face where their genitals are cut out, altered or damaged. This operation does not have a medical reason behind it, it is more often due to cultural or non-therapeutic beliefs. Other terms it falls under are 'female circumcision' or 'cutting' among others. 

There are four different types of FGM that are explained in the course and they are often performed by people who are not medically trained (but may have conducted FGM many times before). But outside of the UK, this may be different, qualified professionals may perform it. Another problem often associated with FGM is that antiseptics and anaesthetics are not often used and this can result in large amounts of pain and sometimes infection.

But the arguably biggest problem with FGM is that due to the age of the girls receiving the procedure, they may not actually consent to it and are forced into it. Additionally, there are not any health benefits for this procedure but they can cause problems for the recipient.

This course aims to equip you with the tools to know what to look for if you suspect a child is going to be subjected to FGM and what you can do to prevent it.