A Scottish midwife has revealed that she encounters up to 150 women every year who have been victims of female genital mutilation (FGM).
Hilary Alba, lead midwife for Greater Glasgow and Clyde health board, who is responsible for asylum seekers and trafficked women in the city, said dealing with women with FGM is an everyday occurrence.
FGM involves the full or partial removal of young girls’ genitals for non-medical reasons. The cutting is carried out for a number of reasons such as to improve their marriage prospects.
The procedure, which can cause complications in delivering a baby, has been associated with Mali, Somalia and Sudan. A BBC investigation in 2013 raised concern that girls are brought to Scotland to undergo FGM because the country is seen as a “soft touch”.
It is claimed that families from England and Europe have travelled to Scotland to have their daughters cut. To date, no-one has been convicted of FGM in Scotland, where those who aid or carry out the procedure, either in Scotland or abroad, face up to 14 years’ imprisonment.
“We’re not sure if it is happening over here,” said Alba. “I think if there was a conviction, it would be huge. It would send out the right message. People know there hasn’t been a conviction and they can get away with it.”