Hairdressers and beauticians are to be trained to spot the signs of forced marriage. Slough charity Jeena International is launching an initiative in the Houses of Parliament later. Founder Rani Bilku said people in the wedding industry would be trained to identify potential victims and know who to alert. Potential signs included a booking being made […]

Ahead of the start of the school Easter holiday, West Yorkshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) and West Yorkshire Police is reminding people of the signs to look out for of forced marriage and honour-based violence. A forced marriage is where one or both people do not (or in cases of people with learning disabilities, […]

IF NISHA’s ordeal was an isolated one, it would be bad enough. That many young women have had to endure similar experiences is a reminder that our society still has a long way to go to eradicate honour-based violence and forced marriage. The Karma Nirvana charity took 126 calls from victims in Leeds last year […]

Filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy made a powerful speech at the #Oscars last night, after winning the award for best documentary short. But rather than using the platform to gush thanks, Obaid-Chinoy took the chance to speak out about the topic of her film: #honourkillings. The practice – where men kill their own female family members for ‘dishonouring’ them, typically […]

Mariam Doumbia didn’t realise there was anything wrong until she was 22. She just thought it was how unmarried girls who had never had sex ‘looked’. Then she saw a picture of a woman who had been circumcised – her clitoris cut out, her labia cut off and her vagina sewn up – and knew, in […]

Campaigners against female genital mutilation have accused the British Museum of “celebrating” the practice by holding an exhibition about a mask used by cutters in Sierra Leone. The museum displayed a Sowei mask, which is worn by members of the Sande society — a women’s association in Sierra Leone which prepares girls for adult life. […]

The Forced Marriage Unit has released a new film to demonstrate the devastating impact of forced marriage on victims and their families. Timed to coincide with the October half term – school holidays are always high risk period – the hard hitting film builds upon the Government’s world-leading work to tackle the issue at home […]

Improving Services, Safeguarding and Meeting the National Reporting Requirement for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) Tuesday 10th May 2016, London Chaired by Vanessa Lodge, Chair of the National FGM Steering Group at NHS England, this conference looks at improving services, safeguarding, and meeting the national reporting requirements for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Through national updates, extended sessions […]

Avon and Somerset Police have this week become the latest force in the country to aid the prevention and ending of female genital mutilation (FGM) by seizing the passports of three girls who were travelling abroad from Bristol as soon-to-be victims of the practice. Bristol police confiscated the documents and applied for female genital mutilation […]