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Fullers Ways North
Kingston headteachers criticised for ignoring FGM email
A campaigner against female genital mutilation (FGM) has criticised Kingston headteachers for failing to read Government advice on combating the practice.
The Department for Education has sent guidance to schools helping to identify girls at risk of the illegal practice, which can include being taken abroad to be cut. But a Freedom of Information request by the Evening Standard showed 23 of the 53 Kingston heads who received the email did not read the online guidance – and 20 did not even open the message. Siobhan Lowe, headteacher at Tolworth Girls’ School, said she was surprised at the figures, but said head teachers at a recent Achieving for Children conference had shown awareness of the issue.
Education Secretary Michael Gove wrote to schools this year, after almost 250,000 petitioners called for more action. New guidance specifically tells teachers girls might be at risk of being taken abroad to be cut during the summer holidays.
Female genital mutilation, also known as female circumcision, is a cultural ritual involving partial or total removal of girls’ external genitals, including the clitoris and labia. In extreme cases, it can include sewing up the vagina. Health problems can include infections, chronic pain, complications during childbirth, and fatal haemorrhaging. About 24,000 girls under 15 in the UK are thought to be at risk of the illegal practice, and the maximum sentence for performing the unnecessary surgery or helping it take place, including by taking girls out of the country, is 14 years in prison. Close to 66,000 UK women and girls are thought to have been victims of the procedure. The Government advises contacting the police if you think a girl or young woman might be in danger, and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 020 7008 1500 if she has already been taken abroad.
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