THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: As many as 100,000 women in Britain have undergone female genital mutilations with medics in the UK offering to carry out the illegal procedure on girls as young as 10, it has been reported.
Investigators from The Sunday Times said they secretly filmed a doctor, dentist and alternative medicine practitioner who were allegedly willing to perform circumcisions or arrange for the operation to be carried out. The doctor and dentist deny any wrongdoing.
The practice, which involves the surgical removal of external genitalia and in some cases the stitching of the vaginal opening, is illegal in Britain and carries up to a 14 year prison sentence.
It is also against the law to arrange FGM.
Known as "cutting", the procedure is traditionally carried out for cultural reasons and is widespread across Africa.
It is thought to be needed as proof of a girl's "purity" for when she marries, but victims are rarely given anaesthetic and frequently suffer long-term damage and pain. » | Sunday, April 22, 2012
THE SUNDAY TIMES: Britain’s 100,000 mutilated women » | Mazher Mahmood and Eleanor Mills | Sunday, April 22, 2012 [£]
THE SUNDAY TIMES: I can circumcise them here: £750 for the first daughter: Finding people to conduct genital mutilation in Britain is easy — even a dentist will do it, report Mazher Mahmood and Eleanor Mills » | Mazher Mahmood and Eleanor Mills | Sunday, April 22, 2012 [£]
WATCH SUNDAY TIMES VIDEO: Undercover footage from the Sunday Times investigation »
