Last Monday, SI Tenby president Iris Davies, accompanied by fellow Soroptimists Wendy Bell and Eleanor Parker, was pleased to be invited to attend the launch of the EU FGM Knowledge Platform. This was organised jointly by Bawso, an all-Wales, Welsh Government Accredited Support Provider, delivering specialist services to people from Black and Ethnic Minority backgrounds and FORWARD, the Foundation for Women’s Health Research and Development, a leading African diaspora women’s campaign and support organisation which is committed to gender equality and safeguarding the rights of African girls and women.

The keynote address was given by Julie Morgan AM, who reported on the Welsh Government’s stance on FGM, regarding it as a violation of human rights, a crime and as child abuse. As a result, the long-awaited FGM clinic will soon be opened at the Cardiff Royal Infirmary and Kirsty Williams has been in contact with all Welsh schools to heighten awareness of FGM.

The address was followed by a brief introduction to the purpose of the Knowledge Platform given by the executive director of FORWARD, Niana Otoo-Oyortey MBE. The platform consists of six modules: health, asylum, law and police, social and child protection, media and education. These are all aimed at tackling discriminatory practices that affect the dignity and wellbeing of girls and women; notably, female genital mutilation (FGM), child marriage and obstetric fistula.

A panel of speakers from a wide range of support agencies then addressed the meeting, including health professionals, representatives from FORWARD and Bawso, and a personal account from a victim of FGM and child marriage and the ways in which Bawso had helped her. She now works with the Refugee Women of Bristol. Finally, there was the opportunity to question members of the panel.

The whole event was a very rewarding experience for SI Tenby’s programme action co-ordinator for FGM, Wendy Bell. She, along with fellow club members, has worked tirelessly since 2003 to raise awareness of this cruel practice, lobbying MPs, sending letters to the heads of faiths, chief police officers in Wales, and producing a DVD with details of SI Tenby’s work, news items and extracts from films on the subject which was set-up at many local events. The Tenby petition, simply headed ‘Against the Illegal Practice of Female Genital Mutilation - To Keep Silent is to Sanction’ was launched, and in 2014 Wendy Bell presented it to Simon Hart MP at his monthly surgery in Augustus Place. The petition contained over 2,600 signatures protesting against the illegal practice of Female Genital Mutilation.

This forum was clear evidence that such campaigning had succeeded. Most importantly, the message it delivered was clear: prevention and education are the way forward, rather than seeking prosecution, as the scars that cannot be seen are the hardest to heal.

President Iris Davies was delighted afterwards to be able to present a cheque to Bawso to assist them in their work. SI Tenby continues to campaign on raising awareness of FGM and modern slavery. Please visit the website at http//:sigbi.tenby.org for further details of the programme action projects.