Preventing female genital mutilation

9 Mar 2015 02:14 PM

Further funding to tackle “unacceptable and illegal practice”.

Almost £220,000 will be invested in a range of interventions targeted at preventing female genital mutilation, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced.

The money will focus on priority areas such as community engagement and development projects, awareness raising, training and support services.

The First Minister made the announcement while visiting roshni, an organisation that addresses issues that affect minority ethnic communities in Scotland, such as FGM, and DARF, the only organisation in Scotland focusing solely on FGM.

She said yesterday:

“Female Genital Mutilation is an unacceptable and illegal practice. It is a form of violence against women and a violation of the human rights of women and girls. It has no place in the Scotland we all want to live in.

“Raising awareness and promoting understanding is vital in addressing the complex issues of FGM. There is excellent work being done across Scotland to raise awareness and promote understanding of the complex issues of FGM.

“The Scottish Government recently invested more than £70,000 to develop information awareness raising materials which are now being rolled out across Scotland, and to support a research based baseline report of Scotland-specific data to help inform our approach with community and statutory partners to tackling FGM in Scotland.

“We have also set up a multi-agency FGM Short Life Working Group which will produce a final report later this year, making recommendations to inform a national action plan for a consistent multi-agency approach to be taken in Scotland towards the elimination of the practice of FGM.

“Today, I have been able to meet with some of the organisations involved to find out about the work they do to help those at risk from this awful practice. I’m pleased that this new funding will help to provide people from communities affected by FGM with a platform to have their voices heard on ending this practice in Scotland.

“I am determined that those who commit FGM abuse will be held to account, and we will work with all our partners and with communities to ensure that we can protect those at risk.”

The First Minister will also attend an International Women’s Day event at Glasgow City Chambers, where she signed a declaration alongside UNICEF and Glasgow City Council committing to further action to tackle violence against women. She said:

“I congratulate Glasgow City Council and Unicef for organizing this event. UNICEF delivers two projects funded by the Scottish Government, in Bangladesh and Malawi, which help children to finish school and then get the skills they need to find good jobs. That gives some indication of the value we place on UNICEF’s work.

“It’s entirely appropriate that this conference, for International Women’s Day, is about violence against women. After all, until we end violence against women, we cannot have true gender equality, either here in Scotland, or elsewhere around the world.”