A group of consultant obstetricians and gynaecologists have criticised the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for charging a doctor with female genital mutilation (FGM) in relation to a medical procedure performed after childbirth. The doctors argue that there is a clear distinction between FGM and repairing cuts necessary for a safe delivery.
The CPS announced last week that it intends to charge Dr Dhanuson Dharmasena and another man, Hasan Mohamed, over an incident at Whittington Hospital in north London. It is alleged that after a patient gave birth in November 2012, Dr Dharmasena repaired an FGM that had previously been performed on the patient, thereby committing FGM himself.
In a letter to the Guardian, the group of specialists, all of whom have treated women affected by FGM, said: 'There is a world of difference between FGM and repairing cuts necessary to allow a baby's delivery.' They described FGM as a 'horrendous practice' affecting over 100 million women, but stressed that when women with FGM give birth, the vaginal opening may need to be widened to allow the baby out, which can cause bleeding that requires repair.
The signatories warned that prosecuting professionals for 'so-called FGM' in such circumstances distracts from the real issues, such as preventing girls from being sent abroad for FGM, stopping the practice in the UK, and changing cultural attitudes in countries where it is endemic.
Professor Peter Brocklehurst, director of the Institute for Women's Health at University College London, said the charges could leave FGM victims bleeding after childbirth due to confusion among midwives and obstetricians about what they can and cannot do to control haemorrhaging. Consultant obstetrician Joseph Aquilina questioned whether the CPS is 'barking up the wrong tree'.
The CPS has stressed that the facts of the case are yet to be heard in court, and that there is sufficient evidence and the prosecution is in the public interest. This is the first time anyone has been charged with FGM in the UK, despite the practice being criminalised in England and Wales since 1985.
