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A new rule to make it possible for doctors and other care-givers to speak out in cases of female genital mutilation (FGM) has been unanimously agreed by MPs.
The rule, part of a bill introduced by Els Van Hoof, lifts the requirement for professional confidentiality in such cases, allowing doctors and nurses and others to alert the authorities in cases where FGM is suspected or impending. The rule applies to minors and adults alike, and also includes the insertion in a patient’s medical records of a note that such a procedure has taken place.
It is estimated that in Belgium there are more than 17,000 girls and women who have undergone such a procedure, a ritual operation which involves the removal of anything from the labia minora up to and including the clitoris itself, often under less than surgical conditions and without anaesthetic.