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A project has been launched to protect girls in Northamptonshire from female mutilation as the county is in the top 10 places in the UK where the practice is carried out.
Northamptonshire Flower will work directly with communities who practice female genital mutilation (FMG) on women as part of their culture. The project will see Pearls of Peace, New Ark Foundation and other groups work together to support inform and advise victims.
A spokeswoman for Northamptonshire Flower said: "This horrific practice involves the child being held down by adults whilst the cutter (circumciser) carries out the procedures very often using blunt instruments – glass, razor, knife using a sawing action. "Increasingly, we are now seeing cases where families are bringing someone into the country to carry out this procedure.