Teachers are failing to raise issue of FGM with primary pupils

Only seven primary schools in the country are making pupils aware of female genital mutilation, the Evening Standard can reveal today.

Teachers fear they will “open a can of worms” if they broach the subject, according to the charity Forward.

Only six primary schools in Islington and one in Bristol are bucking the trend, the charity said, despite girls of primary school age being the most at risk of becoming victims.

Teachers are so reluctant to discuss FGM with pupils that the charity is organising a conference to train them on how to raise the subject.

It comes as police face calls for a national inquiry into their handling of so-called honour crimes, including FGM, which involves the partial or total removal of female genitalia.

The Chief Inspector of Constabulary, Tom Winsor, said police acknowledge under-reporting of “honour-based violence” and “there is still much to be achieved if victims are to feel empowered to come forward and seek help.”

Some London secondary schools teach pupils about FGM during PSHE (personal, social, health and economic) lessons. But campaigners fear it is already too late by that point.

Saria Khalifa, of Forward, said: “To safeguard girls we should be doing work at a significantly younger age. The average age of FGM is five to eight years old, and there is anecdotal evidence that it is happening at a younger age.” St Werburgh’s school in Bristol is the only primary school in the UK directly addressing FGM.

In Islington, a member of the council’s health and well-being team has visited six primary schools and discussed FGM, along with other health issues. Islington council has also developed lesson plans for teachers of year seven pupils, the first year of secondary school.

Naana Otoo-Oyortey, executive director of Forward, said researchers from the charity tried to go into schools across the country to survey attitudes towards FGM among pupils aged 16 and over, but many schools refused to let them in.

Ms Otoo-Oyortey said: “A lot of schools felt it would open up a can of worms. It was a disappointment. There is a lot of resistance in schools.”

To address the problem the charity is holding a conference in Westminster on February 19 for teachers, and is producing a lesson plan for schools.

Nimco Ali, a 30-year-old FGM survivor from Putney, called for teachers to be trained to spot the signs of FGM. When, aged seven, she told a teacher that she had visited the family “cutter” during the summer holidays, she replied: “Oh that’s lovely ... Like a bar mitzvah.”

Ms Ali said: “School is your second home. It is your safe haven. That teacher was the only person I trusted, there was nobody else I could speak to but her response confused me …  All I wanted was someone to ask, are you OK?”

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