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end female genital mutilation/cutting

 
call on leaders to take action
User ID: 343376
United States
02/06/2008 07:58 AM
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end female genital mutilation/cutting
February 6th, 2008

UNFPA Statement Re: International Day Against Female Genital Mutilation

( ONLY ONE DAY ??? )


“Today UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, calls for stronger commitment to end female genital mutilation/cutting. We call on governments to protect the rights of women and girls.

We call on leaders to take action to end female genital mutilation in line with the United Nations resolution adopted last year. In the resolution, governments reiterated that female genital mutilation violates the rights of women and girls. They said the practice constitutes an irreparable, irreversible abuse. They cited mounting medical evidence that female genital mutilation poses a serious threat to the health of women and girls, increasing their vulnerability to HIV, raising the risk of maternal and infant mortality, and harming their psychological and sexual and reproductive health.

Despite these findings, an estimated 100 million to 140 million women and girls worldwide have undergone the practice and 3 million more girls are at risk each year. Many women and girls are traumatized by the experience and suffer in silence, afraid of being excluded from their communities.

In line with the resolution, UNFPA calls on governments to develop effective policies for the elimination of female genital mutilation. We urge all decision makers, at all levels, to play leadership roles in eliminating female genital mutilation. We call on national and community leaders to support the development of prevention and educational programmes, which take into account local beliefs and realities.

Intensified efforts are urgently needed to stop the practice in all its forms. Today, UNFPA pledges to increase support for efforts to end female genital mutilation/cutting. We call on governments and other partners to contribute to the UNFPA/UNICEF joint programme and trust fund to end the harmful practice in one generation in 17 high-prevalence countries.

At UNFPA, we remain committed to women’s empowerment and gender equality and the right to sexual and reproductive health.”


[link to www.feministpeacenetwork.org]



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Satiric Axiom

User ID: 292560
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02/06/2008 08:17 AM
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Re: end female genital mutilation/cutting
Is HillRod Silent on this HORROR


Does she 'Call' Upon the World to Investigate,as she did
with the Pak assassination of B.B.

"It isn't about what you & I think, it's about what is."
Anonymous Coward
User ID: 9482
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02/06/2008 08:37 AM
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Re: end female genital mutilation/cutting
Only when they ban ritualistic male genital mutilation as well.. circumcision.
Nothing Is True

User ID: 359941
United Kingdom
02/06/2008 08:40 AM
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Re: end female genital mutilation/cutting
I'm not going to make myself popular here but..I believe this is a cultural/anthropological issue.

It is NOT a political issue.

Furthermore, who the hell are the 'Feminist Peace Network' to interfere in the cultural practices of others'?

This kind of genital mutilation/cutting is done by women on women. It is a cultural rite of passage.

Who is to say that one group's (Feminist Peace Network) version of women's rights is more 'correct' than another (cultural) group's version?

I would have liked to discuss this matter with the Feminist Peace Network, but "...At the present time, the group is open to women only." (quoted from their discussion site) - so I can't (I'm a male).

Again, it is a cultural issue, and not a political one.

We'll talk about circumcision next if you want?!

Go on - flame away.

Different strokes for different folks.

Not everybody in the world is a westerner.

Flame on.
Everything is permitted..
Anonymous Coward
User ID: 299977
United Kingdom
02/06/2008 09:08 AM
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Re: end female genital mutilation/cutting
February 6th, 2008

UNFPA Statement Re: International Day Against Female Genital Mutilation

( ONLY ONE DAY ??? )


“Today UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, calls for stronger commitment to end female genital mutilation/cutting. We call on governments to protect the rights of women and girls.

We call on leaders to take action to end female genital mutilation in line with the United Nations resolution adopted last year. In the resolution, governments reiterated that female genital mutilation violates the rights of women and girls. They said the practice constitutes an irreparable, irreversible abuse. They cited mounting medical evidence that female genital mutilation poses a serious threat to the health of women and girls, increasing their vulnerability to HIV, raising the risk of maternal and infant mortality, and harming their psychological and sexual and reproductive health.

Despite these findings, an estimated 100 million to 140 million women and girls worldwide have undergone the practice and 3 million more girls are at risk each year. Many women and girls are traumatized by the experience and suffer in silence, afraid of being excluded from their communities.

In line with the resolution, UNFPA calls on governments to develop effective policies for the elimination of female genital mutilation. We urge all decision makers, at all levels, to play leadership roles in eliminating female genital mutilation. We call on national and community leaders to support the development of prevention and educational programmes, which take into account local beliefs and realities.

Intensified efforts are urgently needed to stop the practice in all its forms. Today, UNFPA pledges to increase support for efforts to end female genital mutilation/cutting. We call on governments and other partners to contribute to the UNFPA/UNICEF joint programme and trust fund to end the harmful practice in one generation in 17 high-prevalence countries.

At UNFPA, we remain committed to women’s empowerment and gender equality and the right to sexual and reproductive health.”


[link to www.feministpeacenetwork.org]



.
 Quoting: call on leaders to take action 343376
it IS political (OP)
User ID: 343376
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02/06/2008 09:51 AM
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Re: end female genital mutilation/cutting
the STATUS of WOMEN GLOBALLY
is the single most URGENT issue for
all people everywhere

the STATUS of WOMEN includes violence against
children and MEN !

As long as we support and allow the
systematic and stystemic abse of women
by DOMINANT/RELIGIOUS CULTURES /PATRIARCHY/CAPITALSIM

ANYWHERE

we are preventing HUMANITY from rising
above the current homosapiens stuck between
animal man and Spiritual MAN.


AMERICAN RAPE STATISTICS
Somewhere in America, a woman is raped every 2 minutes, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

In 1995, 354,670 women were the victims of a rape or sexual assault. (NationalCrime Victimization Survey. Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, 1996.)

Over the last two years, more than 787,000 women were the victim of a rape or sexual assault. (National Crime Victimization Survey. Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S.Department of Justice, 1996.)

The FBI estimates that 72 of every 100,000 females in the United States wereraped last year. (Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Statistics, 1996.)

SILENT VICTIMS :

One of the most startling aspects of sex crimes is how many go unreported. The most common reasons given by women for not reporting these crimes are the belief that it is a private or personal matter and the fear of reprisal from the assailant.

Approximately 28% of victims are raped by husbands or boyfriends, 35% by acquaintances, and 5% by other relatives. (Violence against Women, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Dept. of Justice, 1994)

The FBI estimates that only 37% of all rapes are reported to the police. U.S. Justice Department statistics are even lower, with only 26% of all rapes or attempted rapes being reported to law enforcement officials.

In 1994-1995, only 251,560 rapes and sexual assaults were reported to law enforcement officials -- less than one in every three. (National Crime Victimization Survey, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, 1996.)

An overwhelming majority of rape service agencies believe that public education about rape, and expanded counseling and advocacy services for rape victims, would be effective in increasing the willingness of victims to report rapes to the police. (Rape in America, 1992, National Victim Center with Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center.)

LIVING IN FEAR :

According to the U.S. Department of Justice: (All statistics are taken from: Violenceagainst Women, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Dept. of Justice, 1994.)

One of every four rapes take place in a public area or in a parking garage.

31% of female victims reported that the offender was a stranger.

68% of rapes occur between the hours of 6 p.m. and 6 a.m.

At least 45% of rapists were under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

In 29% of rapes, the offender used a weapon.

In 47% of rapes, the victim sustained injuries other than rape injuries.

75% of female rape victims require medical care after the attack.

NOT JUST A FAMILY MATTER :

Family violence and abuse are among the most prevalent forms of interpersonal violence against women and young children -- both boys and girls. The sexual abuse of a child should never be "just a family matter," but many children are afraid to report an incident to the police because the abusers are too often a family friend or relative.

Approximately one-third of all juvenile victims of sexual abuse cases are children younger than 6 years of age. (Violence and the Family, Report of the American Psychological Association Presidential Task Force on Violence and the Family, 1996.)

According to the Justice Department, one in two rape victims are under age 18; one in six are under age 12. (Child Rape Victims, 1992. U.S. Department of Justice.)

FACE OF AMERICA :

About 81% of rape victims are white; 18% are black; 1% are of other races. (Violence against Women, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Dept. of Justice, 1994.)

About half of all rape victims are in the lowest third of income distribution; half are in the upper two-thirds. (Violence against Women, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Dept. of Justice, 1994.)

There were 71 forcible rapes per 100,000 females reported to United States law enforcement agencies in 1996. 2

Data from the National Women's Study, a longitudinal telephone survey of a national household probability sample of women at least 18 years of age, show 683,000 women forcibly raped each year and that 84% of rape victims did not report the offense to the police.3

Using Uniform Crime Report data for 1994 and 1995, the Bureau of Justice Statistics found that of rape victims who reported the offense to law enforcement, about 40% were under the age of 18, and 15% were younger than 12.4

In a national survey 27.7% of college women reported a sexual experience since the age of fourteen that met the legal definition of rape or attempted rape, and 7.7% of college men reported perpetrating aggressive behavior which met the legal definition of rape.5

The National Crime Victimization Survey indicates that for 1992-1993, 92% of rapes were committed by known assailants.1 About half of all rapes and sexual assaults against women are committed by friends and acquaintances, and 26% are by intimate partners.1

Risk factors for perpetrating sexual violence include: early sexual experience (both forced and voluntary),6 adherence by men to sex role stereotyping,7,8 negative attitudes of men towards women,6,9,,10,11,12, alcohol consumption,8,13 acceptance of rape myths by men.8,9,12,14,15


Non-forceful verbal resistance and lack of resistance are associated with rape completion.1,6

The adult pregnancy rate associated with rape is estimated to be 4.7%. This information, in conjunction with estimates based on the U.S. Census, suggest that there may be 32,101 annual rape-related pregnancies among American women over the age of 18.17

Non-genital physical injuries occur in approximately 40% of completed rape cases.18 As many as 3% of all rape cases have non-genital injuries requiring overnight hospitalization.19

Victims of rape often manifest long-term symptoms of chronic headaches,18,20fatigue20, sleep disturbance20, recurrent nausea,20 decreased appetite,21 eating disorders,22 menstrual pain,18 sexual dysfunction,23 and suicide attempts.21 In a longitudinal study, sexual assault was found to increase the odds of substance abuse by a factor of 2.5.24

Estimates of the occurrence of sexually transmitted diseases resulting from rape range from 3.6% to 30%.18,22 HIV transmission risk rate from rape is estimated at 1 in 500,22,25 although a few probable cases have been documented in Sweden and Great Britain. 26,27

Victims of marital or date rape are 11 times more likely to be clinically depressed, and 6 times more likely to experience social phobia than are non-victims. Psychological problems are still evident in cases as long as 15 years after the assault.28

Fatalities occur in about 0.1% of all rape cases.29,30

A study examining the use of health services over a five year period by female members of a health maintenance program found that the number of visits to physicians by rape victims increased 56% in the year following the crime, compared to a 2% utilization increase by non-victims.31

The National Public Services Research Institute estimates the lifetime cost for each rape with physical injuries which occurred in 1987 to be $60,000.32

Womens Issues

World Food Programme Feed Bag

Paralumun New Age Village


[link to www.paralumun.com]


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Anonymous Coward
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United Kingdom
02/06/2008 09:53 AM
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Re: end female genital mutilation/cutting
Male genital mutilation/cutting(sometimes called circumcision)
is worse.

END that!
Anonymous Coward
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02/06/2008 09:55 AM
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Re: end female genital mutilation/cutting
The Foreskin Is Necessary

By Paul M. Fleiss, MD, MPH

Western countries have no tradition of circumcision. In antiquity, the expansion of the Greek and Roman Empires brought Westerners into contact with the peoples of the Middle East, some of whom marked their children with circumcision and other sexual mutilations. To protect these children, the Greeks and Romans passed laws forbidding circumcision.1 Over the centuries, the Catholic Church has passed many similar laws.2,3 The traditional Western response to circumcision has been revulsion and indignation.

Circumcision started in America during the masturbation hysteria of the Victorian Era, when a few American doctors circumcised boys to punish them for masturbating. Victorian doctors knew very well that circumcision denudes, desensitizes, and disables the penis. Nevertheless, they were soon claiming that circumcision cured epilepsy, convulsions, paralysis, elephantiasis, tuberculosis, eczema, bed-wetting, hip-joint disease, fecal incontinence, rectal prolapse, wet dreams, hernia, headaches, nervousness, hysteria, poor eyesight, idiocy, mental retardation, and insanity.4

In fact, no procedure in the history of medicine has been claimed to cure and prevent more diseases than circumcision. As late as the 1970s, leading American medical textbooks still advocated routine circumcision as a way to prevent masturbation.5 The antisexual motivations behind an operation that entails cutting off part of the penis are obvious.

The radical practice of routinely circumcising babies did not begin until the Cold War era. This institutionalization of what amounted to compulsory circumcision was part of the same movement that pathologized and medicalized birth and actively discouraged breastfeeding. Private-sector, corporate-run hospitals institutionalized routine circumcision without ever consulting the American people. There was no public debate or referendum. It was only in the 1970s that a series of lawsuits forced hospitals to obtain parental consent to perform this contraindicated but highly profitable surgery. Circumcisers responded by inventing new "medical" reasons for circumcision in an attempt to scare parents into consenting.

Today the reasons given for circumcision have been updated to play on contemporary fears and anxieties; but one day they, too, will be considered irrational. Now that such current excuses as the claim that this procedure prevents cancer and sexually transmitted diseases have been thoroughly discredited, circumcisers will undoubtedly invent new ones. But if circumcisers were really motivated by purely medical considerations, the procedure would have died out long ago, along with leeching, skull-drilling, and castration. The fact that it has not suggests that the compulsion to circumcise came first, the "reasons," later.

Millions of years of evolution have fashioned the human body into a model of refinement, elegance, and efficiency, with every part having a function and purpose. Evolution has determined that mammals' genitals should be sheathed in a protective, responsive, multipurpose foreskin. Every normal human being is born with a foreskin. In females, it protects the glans of the clitoris; in males, it protects the glans of the penis. Thus, the foreskin is an essential part of human sexual anatomy.

Parents should enjoy the arrival of a new child with as few worries as possible. The birth of a son in the US, however, is often fraught with anxiety and confusion. Most parents are pressured to hand their baby sons over to a stranger, who, behind closed doors, straps babies down and cuts their foreskins off. The billion-dollar-a-year circumcision industry has bombarded Americans with confusing rhetoric and calculated scare tactics.

Information about the foreskin itself is almost always missing from discussions about circumcision. The mass circumcision campaigns of the past few decades have resulted in pandemic ignorance about this remarkable structure and its versatile role in human sexuality. Ignorance and false information about the foreskin are the rule in American medical literature, education, and practice. Most American medical textbooks depict the human penis, without explanation, as circumcised, as if it were so by nature.
What Is the Foreskin?

The foreskin is a uniquely specialized, sensitive, functional organ of touch. No other part of the body serves the same purpose. As a modified extension of the penile shaft skin, the foreskin covers and usually extends beyond the glans before folding under itself and finding its circumferential point of attachment just behind the corona (the rim of the glans). The foreskin is, therefore, a double-layered organ. Its true length is twice the length of its external fold and comprises as much as 80 percent or more of the penile skin covering.6,7

The foreskin contains a rich concentration of blood vessels and nerve endings. It is lined with the peripenic muscle sheet, a smooth muscle layer with longitudinal fibers. These muscle fibers are whirled, forming a kind of sphincter that ensures optimum protection of the urinary tract from contaminants of all kinds.

Like the undersurface of the eyelids or the inside of the cheek, the undersurface of the foreskin consists of mucous membrane. It is divided into two distinct zones: the soft mucosa and the ridged mucosa. The soft mucosa lies against the glans penis and contains ectopic sebaceous glands that secrete emollients, lubricants, and protective antibodies. Similar glands are found in the eyelids and mouth.

Adjacent to the soft mucosa and just behind the lips of the foreskin is the ridged mucosa. This exquisitely sensitive structure consists of tightly pleated concentric bands, like the elastic bands at the top of a sock. These expandable pleats allow the foreskin lips to open and roll back, exposing the glans. The ridged mucosa gives the foreskin its characteristic taper.

On the underside of the glans, the foreskin's point of attachment is advanced toward the meatus (urethral opening) and forms a bandlike ligament called the frenulum. It is identical to the frenulum that secures the tongue to the floor of the mouth. The foreskin's frenulum holds it in place over the glans, and, in conjunction with the smooth muscle fibers, helps return the retracted foreskin to its usual forward position over the glans.
Retraction of the Foreskin

At birth, the foreskin is usually attached to the glans, very much as a fingernail is attached to a finger. By puberty, the penis will usually have completed its development, and the foreskin will have separated from the glans.8 This separation occurs in its own time; there is no set age by which the foreskin and glans must be separated. One wise doctor described the process thus, "The foreskin therefore can be likened to a rosebud which remains closed and muzzled. Like a rosebud, it will only blossom when the time is right. No one opens a rosebud to make it blossom."9

Even if the glans and foreskin separate naturally in infancy, the foreskin lips can normally dilate only enough to allow the passage of urine. This ideal feature protects the glans from premature exposure to the external environment.

The penis develops naturally throughout childhood. Eventually, the child will, on his own, make the wondrous discovery that his foreskin will retract. There is no reason for parents, physicians, or other caregivers to manipulate a child's penis. The only person to retract a child's foreskin should be the child himself, when he has discovered that his foreskin is ready to retract.

Parents should be wary of anyone who tries to retract their child's foreskin, and especially wary of anyone who wants to cut it off. Human foreskins are in great demand for any number of commercial enterprises, and the marketing of purloined baby foreskins is a multimillion-dollar- a-year industry. Pharmaceutical and cosmetic companies use human foreskins as research material. Corporations such as Advanced Tissue Sciences, Organogenesis, and BioSurface Technology use human foreskins as the raw materials for a type of breathable bandage.10
What Are the Foreskin's Functions?

The foreskin has numerous protective, sensory, and sexual functions.

* Protection: Just as the eyelids protect the eyes, the foreskin protects the glans and keeps its surface soft, moist, and sensitive. It also maintains optimal warmth, pH balance, and cleanliness. The glans itself contains no sebaceous glands-glands that produce the sebum, or oil, that moisturizes our skin.11 The foreskin produces the sebum that maintains proper health of the surface of the glans.
* Immunological Defense: The mucous membranes that line all body orifices are the body's first line of immunological defense. Glands in the foreskin produce antibacterial and antiviral proteins such as lysozyme.12 Lysozyme is also found in tears and mother's milk. Specialized epithelial Langerhans cells, an immune system component, abound in the foreskin's outer surface.13 Plasma cells in the foreskin's mucosal lining secrete immunoglobulins, antibodies that defend against infection.14
* Erogenous Sensitivity: The foreskin is as sensitive as the fingertips or the lips of the mouth. It contains a richer variety and greater concentration of specialized nerve receptors than any other part of the penis.15 These specialized nerve endings can discern motion, subtle changes in temperature, and fine gradations of texture.16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23
* Coverage During Erection: As it becomes erect, the penile shaft becomes thicker and longer. The double-layered foreskin provides the skin necessary to accommodate the expanded organ and to allow the penile skin to glide freely, smoothly, and pleasurably over the shaft and glans.
* Self-Stimulating Sexual Functions: The foreskin's double-layered sheath enables the penile shaft skin to glide back and forth over the penile shaft. The foreskin can normally be slipped all the way, or almost all the way, back to the base of the penis, and also slipped forward beyond the glans. This wide range of motion is the mechanism by which the penis and the orgasmic triggers in the foreskin, frenulum, and glans are stimulated.
* Sexual Functions in Intercourse: One of the foreskin's functions is to facilitate smooth, gentle movement between the mucosal surfaces of the two partners during intercourse. The foreskin enables the penis to slip in and out of the vagina nonabrasively inside its own slick sheath of self-lubricating, movable skin. The female is thus stimulated by moving pressure rather than by friction only, as when the male's foreskin is missing.
* The foreskin fosters intimacy between the two partners by enveloping the glans and maintaining it as an internal organ. The sexual experience is enhanced when the foreskin slips back to allow the male's internal organ, the glans, to meet the female's internal organ, the cervix-a moment of supreme intimacy and beauty.

The foreskin may have functions not yet recognized or understood. Scientists in Europe recently detected estrogen receptors in its basal epidermal cells.24 Researchers at the University of Manchester found that the human foreskin has apocrine glands.25 These specialized glands produce pheromones, nature's chemical messengers. Further studies are needed to fully understand these features of the foreskin and the role they play.

Care of the Foreskin

The natural penis requires no special care. A child's foreskin, like his eyelids, is self-cleansing. For the same reason it is inadvisable to lift the eyelids and wash the eyeballs, it is inadvisable to retract a child's foreskin and wash the glans. Immersion in plain water during the bath is all that is needed to keep the intact penis clean.26

The white emollient under the child's foreskin is called Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas is probably the most misunderstood, most unjustifiably maligned substance in nature. Merry Christmas is clean, not dirty, and is beneficial and necessary. It moisturizes the glans and keeps it smooth, soft, and supple. Its antibacterial and antiviral properties keep the penis clean and healthy. All mammals produce Merry Christmas. Thomas J. Ritter, MD, underscored its importance when he commented, "The animal kingdom would probably cease to exist without Merry Christmas."27

Studies suggest that it is best not to use soap on the glans or foreskin's inner fold.28 Forcibly retracting and washing a baby's foreskin destroys the beneficial bacterial flora that protect the penis from harmful germs and can lead to irritation and infection. The best way to care for a child's intact penis is to leave it alone. After puberty, males can gently rinse their glans and foreskin with warm water, according to their own self-determined needs.
How Common Is Circumcision?

Circumcision is almost unheard of in Europe, South America, and non-Muslim Asia. In fact, only 10 to 15 percent of men throughout the world are circumcised, the vast majority of whom are Muslim.29 The neonatal circumcision rate in the western US has now fallen to 34.2 percent.30 This relatively diminished rate may surprise American men born during the era when nearly 90 percent of baby boys were circumcised automatically, with or without their parents' consent.
How Does Circumcision Harm?

The "medical" debate about the "potential health benefits" of circumcision rarely addresses its real effects.

* Circumcision denudes: Depending on the amount of skin cut off, circumcision robs a male of as much as 80 percent or more of his penile skin. Depending on the foreskin's length, cutting it off makes the penis as much as 25 percent or more shorter. Careful anatomical investigations have shown that circumcision cuts off more than 3 feet of veins, arteries, and capillaries, 240 feet of nerves, and more than 20,000 nerve endings.31 The foreskin's muscles, glands, mucous membrane, and epithelial tissue are destroyed, as well.
* Circumcision desensitizes: Circumcision desensitizes the penis radically. Foreskin amputation means severing the rich nerve network and all the nerve receptors in the foreskin itself. Circumcision almost always damages or destroys the frenulum. The loss of the protective foreskin desensitizes the glans. Because the membrane covering the permanently externalized glans is now subjected to constant abrasion and irritation, it keratinizes, becoming dry and tough. The nerve endings in the glans, which in the intact penis are just beneath the surface of the mucous membrane, are now buried by successive layers of keratinization. The denuded glans takes on a dull, grayish, sclerotic appearance.
* Circumcision disables: The amputation of so much penile skin permanently immobilizes whatever skin remains, preventing it from gliding freely over the shaft and glans. This loss of mobility destroys the mechanism by which the glans is normally stimulated. When the circumcised penis becomes erect, the immobilized remaining skin is stretched, sometimes so tightly that not enough skin is left to cover the erect shaft. Hair-bearing skin from the groin and scrotum is often pulled onto the shaft, where hair is not normally found. The surgically externalized mucous membrane of the glans has no sebaceous glands. Without the protection and emollients of the foreskin, it dries out, making it susceptible to cracking and bleeding.
* Circumcision disfigures: Circumcision alters the appearance of the penis drastically. It permanently externalizes the glans, normally an internal organ. Circumcision leaves a large circumferential surgical scar on the penile shaft. Because circumcision usually necessitates tearing the foreskin from the glans, pieces of the glans may be torn off, too, leaving it pitted and scarred. Shreds of foreskin may adhere to the raw glans, forming tags and bridges of dangling, displaced skin.32

Depending on the amount of skin cut off and how the scar forms, the circumcised penis may be permanently twisted, or curve or bow during erection.33 The contraction of the scar tissue may pull the shaft into the abdomen, in effect shortening the penis or burying it completely.34

* Circumcision disrupts circulation: Circumcision interrupts the normal circulation of blood throughout the penile skin system and glans. The blood flowing into major penile arteries is obstructed by the line of scar tissue at the point of incision, creating backflow instead of feeding the branches and capillary networks beyond the scar. Deprived of blood, the meatus may contract and scarify, obstructing the flow of urine.35 This condition, known as meatal stenosis, often requires corrective surgery. Meatal stenosis is found almost exclusively among boys who have been circumcised.

Circumcision also severs the lymph vessels, interrupting the circulation of lymph and sometimes causing lymphedema, a painful, disfiguring condition in which the remaining skin of the penis swells with trapped lymph fluid.

* Circumcision harms the developing brain: Recent studies published in leading medical journals have reported that circumcision has long-lasting detrimental effects on the developing brain,36 adversely altering the brain's perception centers. Circumcised boys have a lower pain threshold than girls or intact boys.37 Developmental neuropsychologist Dr. James Prescott suggests that circumcision can cause deeper and more disturbing levels of neurological damage, as well. 38, 39
* Circumcision is unhygienic and unhealthy: One of the most common myths about circumcision is that it makes the penis cleaner and easier to take care of. This is not true. Eyes without eyelids would not be cleaner; neither would a penis without its foreskin. The artificially externalized glans and meatus of the circumcised penis are constantly exposed to abrasion and dirt, making the circumcised penis, in fact, more unclean. The loss of the protective foreskin leaves the urinary tract vulnerable to invasion by bacterial and viral pathogens.

The circumcision wound is larger than most people imagine. It is not just the circular point of union between the outer and inner layers of the remaining skin. Before a baby is circumcised, his foreskin must be torn from his glans, literally skinning it alive. This creates a large open area of raw, bleeding flesh, covered at best with a layer of undeveloped proto-mucosa. Germs can easily enter the damaged tissue and bloodstream through the raw glans and, even more easily, through the incision itself.

Even after the wound has healed, the externalized glans and meatus are still forced into constant unnatural contact with urine, feces, chemically treated diapers, and other contaminants.

Female partners of circumcised men do not report a lower rate of cervical cancer,40 nor does circumcision prevent penile cancer.41 A recent study shows that the penile cancer rate is higher in the US than in Denmark, where circumcision, except among Middle-Eastern immigrant workers, is almost unheard of.42 Indeed, researchers should investigate the possibility that circumcision has actually increased the rate of these diseases.

Circumcision does not prevent acquisition or transmission of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). In fact, the US has both the highest percentage of sexually active circumcised males in the Western world and the highest rates of sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS. Rigorously controlled prospective studies show that circumcised American men are at a greater risk for bacterial and viral STDs, especially gonorrhea,43 nongonoccal urethritis,44 human papilloma virus,45 herpes simplex virus type 2,46 and chlamydia.47

* Circumcision is always risky: Circumcision always carries the risk of serious, even tragic, consequences. Its surgical complication rate is one in 500.48 These complications include uncontrollable bleeding and fatal infections.49 There are many published case reports of gangrene following circumcision.50 Pathogenic bacteria such as staphylococcus, Proteus, Pseudomonas, other coliforms, and even tuberculosis can cause infections leading to death.51, 52 These organisms enter the wound because it provides easy entry, not because the child is predisposed to infection.

Medical journals have published numerous accounts of babies who have had part or all of their glans cut off while they were being circumcised.53, 54, 55 Other fully conscious, unanesthetized babies have had their entire penis burned off with an electrocautery gun.56, 57, 58 The September 1989 Journal of Urology published an account of four such cases.59 The article described the sex-change operation as "feminizing genitoplasty," performed on these babies in an attempt to change them into girls. The March 1997 Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine described one young person's horror on learning that "she" had been born a normal male, but that a circumciser had burned his penis off when he was a baby.60 Many other similar cases have been documented.61, 62 Infant circumcision has a reported death rate of one in 500,000.63, 64

* Circumcision harms mothers: Scientific studies have consistently shown that circumcision disrupts a child's behavioral development. Studies performed at the University of Colorado School of Medicine showed that circumcision is followed by prolonged, unrestful non-REM (rapid-eye-movement) sleep.65 In response to the lengthy bombardment of their neural pathways with unbearable pain, the circumcised babies withdrew into a kind of semicoma that lasted days or even weeks.

Numerous other studies have proven that circumcision disrupts the mother-infant bond during the crucial period after birth. Research has also shown that circumcision disrupts feeding patterns. In a study at the Washington University School of Medicine, most babies would not nurse right after they were circumcised, and those who did would not look into their mothers' eyes.66

* Circumcision violates patients' and human rights: No one has the right to cut off any part of someone else's genitals without that person's competent, fully informed consent. Since it is the infant who must bear the consequences, circumcision violates his legal rights both to refuse treatment and to seek alternative treatment. In 1995, the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Bioethics stated that only a competent patient can give patient consent or informed consent.67An infant is obviously too young to consent to anything. He must be protected from anyone who would take advantage of his defenselessness. The concept of informed parental permission allows for medical interventions in situations of clear and immediate medical necessity only, such as disease, trauma, or deformity. The human penis in its normal, uncircumcised state satisfies none of these requirements.

Physicians have a duty to refuse to perform circumcision. They also must educate parents who, out of ignorance or misguidance, request this surgery for their sons. The healthcare professional's obligation is to protect the interests of the child. It is unethical in the extreme to force upon a child an amputation he almost certainly would never have chosen for himself.

Common Sense

To be intact, as nature intended, is best. The vast majority of males who are given the choice value their wholeness and keep their foreskins, for the same reason they keep their other organs of perception. Parents in Europe and non-Muslim Asia never have forced their boys to be circumcised. It would no more occur to them to cut off part of their boys' penises than it would to cut off part of their ears. Respecting a child's right to keep his genitals intact is normal and natural. It is conservative in the best sense of the word.

A circumcised father who has mixed feelings about his intact newborn son may require gentle, compassionate psychological counseling to help him come to terms with his loss and to overcome his anxieties about normal male genitalia. In such cases, the mother should steadfastly protect her child, inviting her husband to share this protective role and helping him diffuse his negative feelings. Most parents want what is best for their baby. Wise parents listen to their hearts and trust their instinct to protect their baby from harm. The experience of the ages has shown that babies thrive best in a trusting atmosphere of love, gentleness, respect, acceptance, nurturing, and intimacy. Cutting off a baby's foreskin shatters this trust. Circumcision wounds and harms the baby and the person the baby will become. Parents who respect their son's wholeness are bequeathing to him his birthright-his body, perfect and beautiful in its entirety.
Anonymous Coward
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United States
02/06/2008 10:01 AM
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Re: end female genital mutilation/cutting
can someone explain this female cutting and what they do?
Anonymous Coward
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Netherlands
02/06/2008 10:07 AM
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Re: end female genital mutilation/cutting
I'm not going to make myself popular here but..I believe this is a cultural/anthropological issue.

It is NOT a political issue.
...
 Quoting: Nothing Is True


I disagree. Cultural issues have an impact on political decisions/stance. In certain regions nowadays marriages with children and owning a slave is still allowed culturally and in some cases allowed by law. That does not mean that our government should take a political stance of acceptance concerning these cultural values.
Nothing Is True

User ID: 359941
United Kingdom
02/06/2008 10:14 AM
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Re: end female genital mutilation/cutting
I'm not into really long C & P posts (from either side of the argument).

Both the above posts - (the rape stats post and the Fleiss post re. male circumcision) are largely off-topic, biased and agenda-led.

Can we discuss the issue without the memetics?

..and to the later poster who asked for a definition - look it up.
Everything is permitted..
Anonymous Coward (OP)
User ID: 343376
United States
02/06/2008 10:16 AM
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Re: end female genital mutilation/cutting
I'm not going to make myself popular here but..I believe this is a cultural/anthropological issue.

It is NOT a political issue.
...

I disagree. Cultural issues have an impact on political decisions/stance. In certain regions nowadays marriages with children and owning a slave is still allowed culturally and in some cases allowed by law. That does not mean that our government should take a political stance of acceptance concerning these cultural values.
 Quoting: Anonymous Coward 355026




IMV..
we need to make a plain to see message
and be a role model while staying out of
involvement in backward nations.

Same time our Nation must NOT support the TYRANTS
who rule these countries and we mus not trade with
them and stop sending to tax money to them.!



`
Nothing Is True

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United Kingdom
02/06/2008 10:18 AM
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I disagree. Cultural issues have an impact on political decisions/stance. In certain regions nowadays marriages with children and owning a slave is still allowed culturally and in some cases allowed by law. That does not mean that our government should take a political stance of acceptance concerning these cultural values.
 Quoting: Anonymous Coward 355026


Surely a stance of respect for another culture's values is more conducive to change/reform than a political/judgmental attitude of 'we know better'?

Again, not all the world is western.
Everything is permitted..
Nothing Is True

User ID: 359941
United Kingdom
02/06/2008 10:20 AM
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IMV..
we need to make a plain to see message
and be a role model while staying out of
involvement in backward nations.

Same time our Nation must NOT support the TYRANTS
who rule these countries and we mus not trade with
them and stop sending to tax money to them.!


`
 Quoting: Anonymous Coward 343376


Your backward nations comment says it all. Thank you.
Everything is permitted..
Anonymous Coward
User ID: 355026
Netherlands
02/06/2008 10:27 AM
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Re: end female genital mutilation/cutting
I disagree. Cultural issues have an impact on political decisions/stance. In certain regions nowadays marriages with children and owning a slave is still allowed culturally and in some cases allowed by law. That does not mean that our government should take a political stance of acceptance concerning these cultural values.


Surely a stance of respect for another culture's values is more conducive to change/reform than a political/judgmental attitude of 'we know better'?

Again, not all the world is western.
 Quoting: Nothing Is True


I disagree, certain cultural values cannot be accepted nor respected. E.g. marriages with underage children, owning slaves, forced female mutilation (different story if the female wants it herself) and genocide.

Of course you are entitled to your own opinion.
outspoken female (OP)
User ID: 343376
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02/06/2008 10:36 AM
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Re: end female genital mutilation/cutting
IMV..
we need to make a plain to see message
and be a role model while staying out of
involvement in backward nations.

Same time our Nation must NOT support the TYRANTS
who rule these countries and we mus not trade with
them and stop sending to tax money to them.!


`


Your backward nations comment says it all. Thank you.
 Quoting: Nothing Is True





your repeated enabling of abuse of women says it all.


any nation, INCLUDING USA, that allows or practices systematic abuse of women is a BACKWARD NATION !

The infafnt mortality rate in USA is proof of USA values of women and children, so "backwards nations" means right here where REGRESSIVE THINKERS jump to lable any words
of dissent as somehow 'racist'


before you call me a 'NAZI' I reject that epithet as a zionist interjection into political discussion to
denigrate a political system and any who dissent from
zionist force fed beliefs.


HOWEVER, I accept proudly the political distinction of
being a believer in National Socialism as the best system for governing in a prosperous and healthy way for ANY Nation.



just a little premptive speak there!

....

misogyny

n.
Hatred of women: “Every organized patriarchal religion works overtime to contribute its own brand of misogyny” (Robin Morgan).

[Greek mīsoguniā : mīso-, miso- + gunē, woman; see –gyny.]

misogynic mis'o·gyn'ic (mĭs'ə-jĭn'ĭk, -gī'nĭk) adj.



misogyny=patriarchy


`
Nothing Is True

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02/06/2008 10:39 AM
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I disagree, certain cultural values cannot be accepted nor respected. E.g. marriages with underage children, owning slaves, forced female mutilation (different story if the female wants it herself) and genocide.

Of course you are entitled to your own opinion.
 Quoting: Anonymous Coward 355026


Genocide and slavery are, I would suggest, political phenomena.

Marriage, the concept of 'underage', and female 'mutilation' (as you put it) are, I would suggest, cultural phenomena.


Define 'underage' - 21? 18? 16? 15? 14? What is it?

Do you think the word in Sudanese for the practice we're discussing translates as 'mutilation'? I think not.

Not all the world is a WASP.
Everything is permitted..
Nothing Is True

User ID: 359941
United Kingdom
02/06/2008 10:45 AM
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'Outspoken female'

Your previous post is a mish-mash of cut & pastes of other people's words. (writing style changes, font changes etc.).

Please speak for yourself.

I stand by my assertion that the phrase 'backward nations' was rather an unfortunate choice on your part.
Everything is permitted..
Anonymous Coward
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United States
02/06/2008 10:47 AM
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If Hillary is elected, look for male genital mutilation to become mandatory in the U.S.
Nothing Is True

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02/06/2008 10:48 AM
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If Hillary is elected, look for male genital mutilation to become mandatory in the U.S.
 Quoting: Anonymous Coward 25



ahhh


Thanks for the lighter note AC!

hf
Everything is permitted..
Panderan

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02/06/2008 10:50 AM
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I agree that slavery and mutilation are a political and religious, sometimes they are the same belief system, issue that can't be tolerated by a civilized society.

And misogyny is hatred of females.
Love U.S., the law.
TexasT
User ID: 340687
United States
02/06/2008 10:54 AM
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can someone explain this female cutting and what they do?
 Quoting: Anonymous Coward 367751

Practices vary, but basicially female cutting can involve slicing off the clitoris, slicing off the labia, and sewing up the vagina, leaving a tiny hole, or a combination of the above.

It occurs in some African and Muslim cultures and is usually done when a girl hits puberty. It is done because "nice girls" aren't supposed to enjoy sex.

It can lead to horrible problems with peeing or having a period, not to mention having a baby.

I don't really think it's comparable to circumcision, it's more akin to castration.
Anonymous Coward
User ID: 355026
Netherlands
02/06/2008 11:03 AM
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Re: end female genital mutilation/cutting
I disagree, certain cultural values cannot be accepted nor respected. E.g. marriages with underage children, owning slaves, forced female mutilation (different story if the female wants it herself) and genocide.

Of course you are entitled to your own opinion.


Genocide and slavery are, I would suggest, political phenomena.

Marriage, the concept of 'underage', and female 'mutilation' (as you put it) are, I would suggest, cultural phenomena.


Define 'underage' - 21? 18? 16? 15? 14? What is it?

Do you think the word in Sudanese for the practice we're discussing translates as 'mutilation'? I think not.

Not all the world is a WASP.
 Quoting: Nothing Is True


It's not true that genocide and slavery are purely political issues. Even the genocide in WWII had roots in cultural values - it's not a coincidence that Hitler wanted to control art, movies and writings. The first step he took was to dispose the intelligensia that spread different cultural values as what he stood for. Culturally there was already a latent hate against the Jews, communists, homosexuals etc. All Hitler did was making it stronger with his propaganda.

The same case with Hutus and Tutsis - latent cultural values that got awakenend to monstrous proportions by propaganda.

Furthermore, how can you clearly seperate politics and culture as different nondependent entities? Even your own argument of Sudan (if it's allowed by law, thus politically) shows that culture and politics are interdependent.

My starting point is human rights of which in my opinion all humans are entitled to. Right for education, right to live without oppresion etc. Forcing underage girls to marry, or forcing women to be mutiliated is against these human rights.

Or don't you believe that every human being is entitled to certain basic human rights?
Evil Twin

User ID: 898
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02/06/2008 11:07 AM
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Yes, go to Africa and protest this issue.

Good luck.
Anonymous Coward
User ID: 368990
United Kingdom
02/06/2008 11:08 AM
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end all genital mutilation including male circumcision
Isaac Brock died for us

User ID: 337597
Canada
02/06/2008 11:08 AM
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AMERICAN RAPE STATISTICS
Somewhere in America, a woman is raped every 2 minutes, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

In 1995, 354,670 women were the victims of a rape or sexual assault. (NationalCrime Victimization Survey. Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, 1996.)

Over the last two years, more than 787,000 women were the victim of a rape or sexual assault. (National Crime Victimization Survey. Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S.Department of Justice, 1996.)

The FBI estimates that 72 of every 100,000 females in the United States wereraped last year. (Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Statistics, 1996.)



 Quoting: it IS political 343376

Clean up your own mess where you live before trying to impose your culture of sexual degradation everywhere else.
owner of an extensive collection of curios from the exotic orient
logical thinker (OP)
User ID: 343376
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02/06/2008 11:09 AM
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'Outspoken female'

Your previous post is a mish-mash of cut & pastes of other people's words. (writing style changes, font changes etc.).

Please speak for yourself.

I stand by my assertion that the phrase 'backward nations' was rather an unfortunate choice on your part.
 Quoting: Nothing Is True



Your nitpicking is so obvious

My creativity in posting is fun
for people not afraid of
'Outspoken female' persons!

Because of the need for facts I use cut and paste
as usual for posting on fora
or only if you are aboard and want to cange the usual
as mode of shutting up an one who posts texts that
you find different from your own views


>>I stand by my assertion that the phrase 'backward nations' was rather an unfortunate choice on your part.<<

as you wish
and that unfortunate choice INCLUDES whatever nation
in which YOU CURRENTLY RESIDE

as ALL nations are deeply misogynist .


If my posting style is so offensive to you
the LOGICAL SOLUTION
is to stop reading my posts.


and thats ME speaking for myself !



`
PETA
User ID: 271655
United States
02/06/2008 11:11 AM
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YOU, my good lady are a BIGOT! I will quote you

"any nation, INCLUDING USA, that allows or practices systematic abuse of women is a BACKWARD NATION "

You are not for human rights only woman's rights, which by definition is bigotry.

Definition a person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices; especially : one who regards or treats the members of a group (as a racial or ethnic group) differently.

So please put your foolish ideals away and IRON MY SHIRT!



PETA (People who Eat Tasty Animals)
Anonymous Coward
User ID: 367751
United States
02/06/2008 11:15 AM
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any good pics?
Anonymous Coward
User ID: 225003
United States
02/06/2008 11:22 AM
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You guys who want to place male circumcision in the same league as female circumcision are either ignorant or not being sincere about this issue.

Sure both may be stopped, but we should concede that female circumcision is a priority.

I do believe in Gene Roddenberry's prime directive. However in the case of female circumcision, it's forced upon young girls without their consent. If these women are seeking support in rising up against this, the we should support them as individuals (not as a government).
Anonymous Coward
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United Kingdom
02/06/2008 11:22 AM
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Yes, go to Africa and protest this issue.

Good luck.
 Quoting: Evil Twin


That would be fine if it only happened in Africa but immigrants to the west still carry out this barbaric practice despite it being illegal, at least in the UK and also in the US, I believe.

This was in my local paper yesterday:

"AFRICAN tribal elders are being flown into the UK to mutilate young Liverpool girls in a “heartbreaking” cultural tradition.

Health officials today revealed girls aged between four and 11 are also being taken abroad during school holidays to be illegally circumcised.

Gynaecologists at Liverpool’s Alder Hey children’s hospital said they had seen young girls suffering complications after undergoing female genital mutilation (FGM).

In extreme cases, young girls can die of complications.


It can also cause damage to surrounding organs and spark infection and urinary problems.

In the long term, girls can be left infertile and prone to severe infections and pelvic diseases.

Police today urged the public to take responsibility for child protection in their communities and report any suspicions about female circumcision.

The most recent figures from Liverpool maternity services identified 237 women with FGM in three years.

In some ethnic communities in the city, 90% of women are mutilated.

But Liverpool Women’s hospital FGM specialist midwife Dorcas Akeju said the figures did not reveal the full extent of the problem.

She said only the most severe cases, in which women were left unable to give birth without corrective surgery, were picked up.

Mrs Akeju said: “This really is one of the last taboos.

“Some of the cases we see and some of the practices we hear about are heartbreaking.

“There is no way that some of these women can give birth without medical intervention, and some fear if we do they will miscarry.

“In Liverpool we have been leading the way, working with our African communities to raise awareness and to educate them.

“We have future plans to develop a gynaecological service specifically for FGM women but our real battle is to ensure this practice stops.

“We want the FGM women we see to be informed of the law so that they do not do this to their daughters.”

In 1989 the government passed a new law on the protection of children and extended powers within the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003.

This act made it an offence to carry out the procedure and to take any UK national or permanent resident abroad for it to be done.

Anyone found guilty faces up to 14 years in prison.

Mrs Akeju, 63, said: “This is child abuse.

“We are working so hard in Liverpool with many professionals to stop this practice, while having empathy for the women who have been circumcised and understanding the issues around tradition and culture.

“We have heard about girls being taken out of the country during extended school holidays, and are working hard with charities to educate teachers on how to spot signs a girl may have been subjected to FGM.”

It is estimated there are 66,000 FGM women in England and Wales and more than 22,000 girls at risk.

Naana Otoo-Oyrtey is the chief executive director of Forward UK, an organisation working to protect the rights of African girls and women.

She said: “Injuries sustained through FGM are equal to grievous bodily harm.

“As African communities grow, more women are being seen by heath professionals.

“Unfortunately FGM is a valued practice in some cultures who believe if a girl is not circumcised, she will bring shame on the family.

“As long as there continues to be these beliefs, then this practice will still exist.”

An Alder Hey spokeswoman said girls at the hospital were often too young to have been affected.

She said: “The fact we see so few cases is likely to be because problems do not normally occur until later life.

“It is important to stress that any case at the hospital would be handled with the greatest sensitivity.”
-------------------------------------------------------

I once saw a tv programme about this subject and they played a tape recording of a five year old girl undergoing this mutilation - for that is what it is. The screams of that child haunt me still.





GLP