Girls at Risk of Multilation Lack Help From Teachers

Girls at risk of genital mutilation are not being helped as their teachers lack training in how to deal with this type of child abuse, warns the NSPCC.

The charity is urging schools to treat female genital mutilation as they would other forms of child abuse.

"Teachers are on the front line", said Lisa Harker, NSPCC head of strategy.

Some 20,000 girls in England and Wales are thought to be at risk of this illegal practice, according to government figures, but there are fears that this figure masks a larger problem.

In March, a study by midwives revealed more than 100 victims in Bristol alone over a single nine-month period.

The NSPCC says the practice has no medical benefits but is motivated by cultural beliefs about preparing a girl for adulthood and marriage by making her "clean, chaste and faithful". The charity describes it as being potentially life-threatening and sometimes carried out without anaesthetic.


The government says teachers have a key role in spotting children who may be at risk of or who have undergone genital cutting. In January, the schools watchdog, Ofsted, announced it would be including schools' safeguarding arrangements on female genital mutilation in inspections.

Updated Ofsted guidance says that key staff should be able to show how alert they are to "possible signs that a child has been subject to female genital mutilation or is at risk of being abused through it".

However, some 83% of teachers in England and Wales said they had not had child protection training in this area, according to a survey for the NSPCC.

The YouGov poll of over 1,000 teachers also suggested that some 68% were unaware of government guidance on schools policy on this form of abuse.

You can read more on this story on the BBC News website here.

The NSPCC's Policy summary on Female Genital Multilation is available to read here.

Free Resources For International Women's Day

Friday, 8th March was International Women's Day and to celebrate it a number of free resources were made available online.

These include:

• International Women's Day page on the UN website. Has a history of the event, records of past days, news and basic facts and figures about women.
• ILO puts the spotlight on sexual harassment. See their statement
• Council of Europe International women's Day files
• International Women's Day Resources. Has videos & posters
• UK Government map showing UK government action to empower women across the globe..

Rise In Convictions For Violence Against Women

Prosecutions and convictions for crimes of violence against women and girls have risen by 15,000 over four years.

The figures come from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) which covers England and Wales.

The Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer, said the rise was due to better training and a greater understanding of victims. The Refuge charity welcomed the increase but said it represented only "the tip of the iceberg".

Most victims of domestic violence suffer in silence - Mr Starmer said a woman would on average be assaulted 30 times before she sought help. In a speech he will highlight the progress he believes the CPS has made when it comes to all violent crime against women and girls.

The DPP will tell his audience that last year in England and Wales there were 91,000 prosecutions and 52,000 convictions. The CPS launched its Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy in 2008.
It focused on a number of issues including domestic violence, rape, forced marriage and female genital mutilation.

You can read more on this story on the BBC News website here.

Women Hold Fewer Than 1/3 Of Top Jobs - BBC Research

Figures compiled by BBC News show that fewer than 1/3 of the UK's most inflential jobs are currently held by women.

Women occupy on average 30.9% of the most senior positions across 11 key sectors analysed by the BBC, including business, politics and policing.The armed forces and judiciary have the fewest women in top posts - 1.3% and 13.2% respectively - while secondary education has the most (36.7%).

Campaign group the Fawcett Society said progress was still too slow.

"Men outnumber women by four to one in Parliament and only a third of local councillors are women," the group's Preethi Sundaram said.

"When we look at the top quarters of power in the political world there are only five women there out of 22… It's quite an appalling fact really."

The European Commission is considering new laws to get more women into the top management jobs. Currently, just one in seven board members at Europe's top firms are women.

You can read more on this story as well as statistics on women in top jobs here: Women hold fewer than one third of top jobs.

Qualitative Study Of Children, Young People & Sexting

Jessica Ringrose, Institute of Education, and others for the NSPCC have conducted a small scale qualitative study to improve the understanding of sexting (the “exchange of sexual messages or images” and “creating, sharing and forwarding sexually suggestive nude or nearly nude images”) and the use of mobile technology by young people.

The researchers conducted focus groups with 35 young people aged 12 to 14 years from inner city London schools. Participants were asked to become friends with the research team on Facebook so their activities online could be mapped. The findings reveal that sexting does not refer to a single activity but covers a range of activities experienced by young people. The key messages from the research are: the primary technology-related threat comes from peers, not 'stranger danger'; sexting is often coercive; girls are the most adversely affected; technology amplifies the problem by facilitating the objectification of girls; sexting reveals wider sexual pressures; ever younger children are affected; sexting practices are culturally specific; and more support and resources are vital to redress the gendered sexual pressures on young people.

The report sets out recommendations for schools, parents, internet service and site providers, child welfare professionals and future research and is available to read here: http://www.nspcc.org.uk/Inform/resourcesforprofessionals/sexualabuse/sexting-research-report_wdf89269.pdf

Girl's Attitudes & Role Models Explored

A new report by Girlguiding UK highlights a role model deficit among girls and young women, shedding light on how the narrow range of positive examples available to girls and young women aged 7 to 21 is linked to a limited range of aspirations for their futures.

The report, prepared from focus group research, says that girls who think it right to refrain from sex while still far below the legal age of consent are no more than “a significant minority”. Several of those surveyed admitted taking risks and pushing themselves beyond their comfort zone in order to feel accepted – drinking alcohol, partying and having underage sex. They justify their actions by referring to the abundance of TV shows that are seen to normalise such behaviour.

The full report is available here:
http://www.girlguiding.org.uk/pdf/GirlsAttitudesExploredRoleModels_FINAL.pdf [PDF 5.55MB]

Changing The Game For Girls

A study by Loughborough University's  Institute of Youth Sport for the Women’s Sport and Fitness Foundation says that girls are not getting enough exercise because most are put off by school PE lessons.

Forty five per cent of those surveyed said “sport is too competitive”, 48% think it is “not feminine” and more than 50% believe boys enjoy sport more. The WSFC recommends making sport more appealing by offering activities like dance and martial arts at school.

The report is freely available to download here: http://wsff.org.uk/publications/reports/changing-the-game-for-girls