Please be advised that this article covers Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)
A charity that empowers young people to take an active role in transforming society has released a 15-minute film tackling untruths about FGM (female genital mutilation).
Integrate UK is a multi-award winning youth-led charity that invests in the skills and talents of its young people to work towards gender and racial equality and community cohesion. As well as supporting young people with their learning, ambitions and aspirations, the Bristol-based organisation also runs a wide range of creative and educational projects that that are devised by the young people themselves, which enable them to learn and develop transferable skills in many different areas.
This work may involve film development, a stage production, song writing or organising a conference and many people involved have been invited to speak at high profile events nationally and internationally, to consult government ministers or deliver training to professionals including teachers, police, lawyers and medical professionals.
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Integrate UK works with young people from diverse backgrounds, many of whom are Muslim girls. They aim to support young people to identify issues that affect them and empower those most at risk, encouraging them to become the solution through creative and educational project work.
Whilst their work takes on a wide breadth, some of the issues they campaign against include honour-based violence and abuse, child-sexual exploitation, forced marriage, sexual assault and different forms of extremism.
They are best known for their work surrounding the raising of awareness for the eradication of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and have recently launched their 14th FGM resource ‘Switched’, which is an educational film, tackling current issues regarding the fight to end FGM.
It focuses particularly on the involvement of men and boys in the work as well as de-racialising the issue and tackling misconceptions. They worked with professionals from the media and creative industries, young women, and young survivors to develop the short drama, which aims to initiate discussions among young people and make sure they know where and how to access advice and support.
The inclusive resource prioritises focusing on more than one affected community, exploring barriers to effective safeguarding, FGM in the context of gender inequality and honour-based violence and abuse, misconceptions around who is at risk and the different types of FGM.
Speaking about 'Switched' Shaheim, a junior trustee at Integrate UK, said: "I love the resource, I love the way they flipped everything on its head. This is going to help people be more compassionate and empathise with survivors of gendered violence and FGM."
Neisha, who is also involved in the work of Integrate UK, said: "I really loved the concept of the film, I felt like it was new and different which made it so thought-provoking."
The main aim of 'Switched' is to ensure that young people are provided with knowledge and increase awareness of FGM, sign post them to support services, provide them with the confidence to disclose and report incidents, provide them with the tools to equip themselves.
'Switched' can be watched below.
A spokesperson for Integrate UK said: "When we created our FGM resource, in 2015, the NSPCC published results that show more than 85 per cent of teachers felt that they did not have enough training on FGM and did not feel comfortable discussing FGM with their students. Since then, much has changed and there is greater awareness, frontline professionals now have a duty to report and through the enhanced database, we have much more accurate data on the prevalence.
"However, FGM is undoubtedly racialised which can lead to a lack of safeguarding of girls who don't fit the expected appearance of a girl at risk of this form of abuse. Also, there is anecdotal evidence that girls are being cut at a much earlier age to avoid detection and there is still considerable disagreement as to whether certain types of FGM are acceptable - or even a religious or cultural duty.
"Our young activists have asked to make this resource to facilitate discussions amongst young women and to provide teachers and schools with an appropriate and up to date lesson plan. Furthermore, to create a holistic and inclusive resource, we must look at the involvement of our male counterparts when tackling this issue. Without meaningful involvement of fathers, brothers, uncles etc nothing can change."
Switched wants to not only safeguard, raise awareness for, educate and protect young people from FGM, but their focus on de-racialising the practice means that it will no longer just be seen as an issue that only concerns the communities it stereotypically impacts. As well as this, their education prioritises the involvement of men and boys, who they say must also see ending FGM as their responsibility, regardless of whether they can directly be affected.
Integrate UK's spokesperson told Bristol Live: "Ending FGM is part of the campaign for human rights we all have a duty to help. It needs to happen now - FGM still happens to girls in the UK, currently 2,000 girls are at risk."
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