Lesson video

Hi, I'm Ms. Lowe, and I'm your RSHE teacher for today.

Thank you so much for choosing to complete your learning with me.

Now, today's lesson is all about FGM, which stands for female genital mutilation, and because of the themes and topics that we're gonna cover today in this lesson, it's important that you complete your learning with the company of an adult.

Now, by the end of today's lesson, you're gonna be able to describe what female genital mutilation is and explain its impacts and where to go to get support in the UK.

Every RSHE lesson should begin with a set of ground rules.

This ensures that every conversation had in RSHE is respectful and we're all able to learn effectively.

So, Laura is reminding us that in our RSHE, we should listen to others.

"It's okay to disagree with each other, but we should listen properly before making assumptions or deciding how to respond.

And when disagreeing, we challenge the statement and not the person." Andeep is reminding us to respect privacy.

"We can discuss examples, but we don't use names or descriptions that can identify anyone, including ourselves." Izzy is reminding us to choose a level of participation that suits us.

"Everyone has the right to choose not to answer a question or to join in a discussion, but we never put anyone on the spot." And finally, Jacob is reminding us that in our RSHE, there is no judgement.

"We can explore beliefs and misunderstandings about a topic without the fear of being judged." Let's have a look at our key keywords for today's lesson.

Female genital mutilation, or FGM, the practise of altering or injuring female genitals for non-medical reasons.

Cultural practise, a tradition or custom observed by a particular community or society.

Support services, organisations and resources available to help victims of harmful practises.

And here is an outline of what we're gonna be looking at together today in this lesson.

So, we're gonna begin by asking the question, what is FGM? So, female genital mutilation, you'll see written often in this lesson as FGM, is also referred to sometimes as female circumcision or cut.

And this is a harmful cultural practise.

A common misconception that lots of people have about FGM is that it is a religious practise.

And this isn't the case.

FGM is not mandated by any religion, and in fact, many religious leaders condemn the act.

FGM is the collective name given to a range of different procedures, and it covers any harmful procedure that can be done to the female genitals for non-medical reasons.

And when we say non-medical reasons, what we mean is that it has no medical purpose.

It doesn't benefit a female body in any way, shape, or form.

It is considered to be a form of violence against women and girls, as there is no health benefit associated with it.

Now, it's a practise that affects women and girls all around the world, including here in the UK.

According to WHO, the World Health Organisation, there are actually over 200 million women and girls alive today who have suffered from FGM.

Now, let's pause here and we'll check our understanding about what we've learned so far.

What is female genital mutilation? Pause the video and have a read through those three options, and then we'll go through the right answer together in a moment.

Excellent work if you said C.

So, female genital mutilation is altering female genitalia for non-medical reasons.

Another check for understanding here.

According to WHO, the World Health Organisation, how many women and girls alive today have suffered FGM? So, pause the video and have a think about your answer.

So, there are 200 million women and girls alive today who have suffered FGM.

So, let's have a look now at some of the reasons why FGM is practised.

So, in some cultures, FGM is seen as a step into womanhood.

And what this means is they see the FGM procedure as transforming a girl's body into a woman's.

In some cultures, girls who've undergone FGM may receive a higher bride price.

And what this means is it's goods or money that are given in exchange for marrying a girl.

And girls who've undergone FGM may receive a higher bride price.

Some believe that it prevents sexual desire or makes a woman cleaner or more attractive.

Now, FGM may be a tradition within a family, and there is pressure to continue the practise.

So, if other women within the family have gone through the procedure of FGM, it can become a tradition within that culture and within that family, and then there is pressure put on that girl to go through the same procedure.

Now, there are different types of FGM that can be performed.

One of them is a partial or total removal of the clitoris.

Another is partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia minora, and in some cases, the labia majora as well.

Another form of FGM is narrowing the vaginal opening by creating a covering seal, leaving a small hole for menstrual blood or urine to pass.

So, as you can see from these examples, FGM is an incredibly harmful and invasive procedure that is done on female bodies.

Now, let's pause here and we'll check our understanding about what we've just learned.

There are multiple different types of FGM.

Is that true or false? Really well done if you said true.

But why is this true? Well, FGM is the collective name given to a range of procedures.

We saw on the previous slide the FGM can range from the partial or total removal of the clitoris to a narrowing of the vaginal opening, the removal of the clitoris, the labia minora, and the labia majora.

So, there are lots of different types of FGM that can be performed.

Now, we're gonna put our learning into practise.

So, what I want for you to do is, using all the information that we've learned so far, I'd like you to answer the following two questions.

The first question is what is FGM? And the second question is why is it practised? So, pause the video here, write down your answers, and then we'll have a look at what you might have written together in a moment.

Excellent work there.

Let's have a look at what you might have said in your answers to those questions.

So, your first question was what is FGM? So, FGM is female genital mutilation, and it's a harmful cultural practise.

It involves changing or injuring the female genital area for non-medical reasons, and there are multiple ways that this can happen.

FGM is recognised as a form of violence against women and girls, and it can cause serious physical and emotional harm.

You might have also written there that the World Health Organisation said that there are 200 million women and girls alive today who have suffered from FGM.

Let's have a look at question number two now, and you were asked why is it practised? So, you might have said that in some cultures, FGM is seen as a step into womanhood.

That girls may receive a higher bride price for having to undergo it.

Some believe that it prevents sexual desire or makes a woman cleaner and more attractive.

Or you might have said that FGM can also be a family tradition with pressure to continue this practise.

Really well done if you mentioned any of those things in your answers.

We're moving on now to the second part of our lesson, where we're asking the question what are the impacts of FGM? So, FGM can be carried out at different stages in a girl's life.

It could happen when she's a newborn, it could be during childhood or teenage years, just before marriage, or even during their first pregnancy.

However, most cases of FGM are believed to happen when a girl is between five and eight years old.

Therefore, FGM usually happens without the girl's consent, because it's impossible for a five or an eight-year-old to agree to something that they can't truly understand, and they don't know what the effects and the impacts are going to be of it.

FGM is an incredibly painful practise that can have not only physical impact on the victim, but also psychological or mental impacts.

And these impacts that a girl might experience are both short-term and long-term.

So, Dr.

Elsie is telling us something about FGM here.

She says that the impact of FGM is extensive.

It affects physical, emotional, and social health, and it harms women's lives in multiple ways, affecting their basic rights, their safety, and their wellbeing.

So, as you can see here, FGM, even though it is a very, very harmful medical procedure, it isn't only the physical impacts that will affect the women and girls who have to undergo this.

So, this procedure is commonly done without anaesthesia.

An anaesthesia is what people tend to have at hospital when they're having invasive surgeries.

It stops people from experiencing the pain of an invasive procedure.

It's also done using, sorry, without proper equipment.

And it is usually being done by non-medical professionals.

And as a result of all of these things, there are some common short-term physical impacts of FGM, and this includes intense pain, bleeding and swelling.

It can lead to infection and difficulty passing urine, particularly if the type of FGM that a person has gone through is a narrowing of the vaginal passage.

As well as the physical impacts, there are psychological impacts to FGM, and these include PTSD, which stands for post-traumatic stress disorder.

It can cause a loss of trust in caregivers.

It can cause a feeling of isolation and being alone.

It can lead to shock and some serious mental health conditions, including depression and anxiety.

Now let's pause here and we'll check our understanding about what we've just learned.

What is one of the potential physical impacts of FGM? Going to pause the video here and have a think about your answer.

Really well done if you said excessive bleeding.

Absolutely, one of the potential physical impacts of FGM is excessive bleeding, pain, difficulty passing urine, or even infection.

Now we'll check our understanding again.

So, true or false? A victim of FGM is likely to experience a loss of trust in their caregivers.

Again, we're gonna pause the video here and have a think about our answers.

Really well done if you said true.

Now let's have a look at why this is true.

We said that FGM comes with it lots of psychological impacts that it can have on the victim, and this is one of those potential psychological impacts of FGM.

And now we're gonna put our learning into practise.

So what I would like for you to do is to have a look at that list of different impacts that FGM can have.

We have PTSD, difficulty passing urine, isolation, increased likelihood of infection, bleeding and swelling, and a loss of trust in caregivers.

And I would like for you to tell me whether or not that impact is physical or psychological.

So pause the video and have a go at completing that table for me.

Great work, let's go through those answers together.

So PTSD is a psychological impact.

It stands for post-traumatic stress disorder.

Difficulty passing urine is a physical impact of FGM.

Isolation is psychological.

An increased likelihood of infection is physical.

Bleeding and swelling as a result of FGM is physical.

And a loss of trust in caregivers is psychological.

Well done if you managed to get all of those impacts sorted correctly.

We're gonna move on now to the final part of our lesson, where we're asking the question what is the law around FGM? So FGM is internationally recognised as a human rights violation, and that should show us how seriously FGM is taken around the world.

FGM is illegal in the UK and abroad, even if it's done outside of the UK.

So that means that it is illegal to take somebody abroad to have FGM performed upon them for them to then come back and live in the UK.

It is illegal to take anybody abroad to go through the procedure of FGM.

And it is against the law to perform, help, or even arrange for a girl to go through FGM.

It is also illegal, as I said before, to take someone abroad to have FGM done, even if it is legal in that country.

FGM Protection Orders can stop someone from carrying out or planning FGM.

So, they can prevent somebody taking a girl or a woman abroad to have FGM done.

Under the Female Genital Mutilation Act of 2003, these offences carry with them quite serious sentences.

So if somebody is found guilty of breaking this act, they can face between five and 14 years imprisonment.

Now, Police Officer Paula here is telling us something about those FGM laws.

She says, "Remember, you are never in trouble for speaking up about FGM.

The police are there to help keep you safe.

And if you're worried about yourself or someone else, you must report it.

You are protected by the law, and we're always here to listen and support you." Now let's pause here and we'll check our understanding.

What is the legal status of FGM in the UK? Really well done if you said that it is illegal.

We said that it is illegal to perform FGM, to arrange for somebody to have FGM, to prepare for somebody to have FGM, and it is illegal to take somebody abroad to have FGM, even if that is legal in the country that it is being done.

So if you or someone that you know is at risk of or has experienced FGM, there are lots of things that you can do.

So you can talk to a trusted adult, like a teacher or a school nurse.

You could call Childline at 0800 1111 for confidential help.

You could report it to the police by calling 999 if it's an emergency.

And you could contact support services like the NSPCC FGM helpline for advice and support.

And of course, it's really important to know that there are people ready to help you, and that FGM is against the law.

The police and all of these services are there to support people who have experienced this, who are concerned about it, or if you know somebody who is at risk of it.

Let's pause the video here and let's have a think about what we've just learned.

So who can provide support for FGM victims? Is it NSPCC and the NHS, social media influencers, or teachers and social workers? Pause the video here.

Really well done if you said the NSPCC and the NHS, and of course, teachers and social workers.

And now we're gonna put our learning into practise.

So Laura has never learned about FGM before.

What I'd like for you to do is to answer each of her questions.

So Laura is asking, "What is the legal status of FGM, and what should I do if I know somebody who needs support?" So pause the video here and answer those questions from Laura, and then we'll go through what you might have said together in a moment.

Great work there.

So you were asked to answer two questions that Laura had about FGM.

So her first question was, "What is the legal status of FGM?" And the answer may have included that FGM is illegal in the UK, and it is recognised as a serious crime.

It's also against the law to take someone abroad to have FGM done, even if it's legal in that country.

Anyone who performs, helps, or arranges FGM can be punished by law, and these offences carry a prison sentence of somewhere between five and 14 years.

Laura's second question was, "What should I do if I know someone who needs support?" And your answer may have included that they can talk to a trusted adult, like a teacher or a school nurse.

They could call Childline on 0800 1111 for confidential help.

They can report it to the police by calling 999 if it's an emergency.

And they can contact support services like the NSPCC FGM helpline.

And we're gonna end today's lesson with a summary of what we've learned.

So female genital mutilation, often referred to as FGM, is a harmful cultural practise that involves altering or injuring female genitals for non-medical reasons.

And there are different forms of FGM.

The practise can have serious physical and psychological impacts on the victim.

Physical impacts include pain, bleeding and infection.

It can also lead to long-term emotional and mental health issues, including anxiety, depression, and PTSD.

FGM is a violation of human rights, and it is illegal in the UK and many other countries.

It's against the law to perform, help with, or arrange FGM, even if it takes place outside of the UK.

If you or someone you know is at risk, there are lots of support services that can help.

Now I'd like to end today's lesson by giving you a list of places that you can go to for support if any of the issues brought up in today's lesson affect you in any way or you have any concerns.

So first, we have the NHS website, which is a site giving advice about health and prevention, including how to access their services.

Childline, which is a website and phone line which is able to offer confidential advice and support.

And then finally, the NSPCC FGM helpline.

You can contact the NSPCC anonymously if you're worried that a girl or young woman is at risk or a victim of FGM.

And I'd like to say well done for today's lesson and all that fantastic learning that you've done, and please make sure to access any of these support sites if anything that we've learned today concerns you in any way.

And I look forward to seeing you in another RSHE lesson soon.