The Vavengers go to the House of Lords
To address the healthcare inequalities experienced by FGM/C survivors with NHS Chiefs
The Vavengers Team and Campaign Ambassadors, Baroness Rosie Boycott, and Sabrina Elba
On Monday 22nd May 2023, The Vavengers presented a healthcare inequalities report at the House of Lords. The report highlighted the healthcare inequalities faced by survivors of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting in the UK healthcare settings.
The Vavengers called upon NHS Chief Nursing Officer for England, Dame Ruth May and the office of NHS Chief Executive Officer Amanda Pritchard to deliver on three critical solutions: adding a question about FGM/C on patient registration forms, offering long-term mental health support and providing reconstructive surgery for survivors.
The roundtable lunch meeting was co-chaired by our CEO Sema Gornall and Baroness Rosie Boycott with our Campaign Ambassador Sabrina Dhowre Elba in attendance, giving a keynote speech. Dr Leyla Hussein OBE, Dr Jasmine Abdulcadir, Huda Mohamed and Hoda Ali gave their expertise as healthcare professionals in this important convening meeting.
“I feel I have a responsibility, a moral duty, to speak out about something that is abusive towards children.” - Sabrina Dhowre Elba
The roundtable lunch meeting, hosted by our sponsoring member of the House of Lords, Baroness Rosie Boycott, secured the endorsement of CEO, model and activist Sabrina Elba, and marked the launch of our One Question Campaign to address FGM/C data poverty in the UK. The Vavengers kickstarted this campaign at the parliament to see real change to improve the healthcare experiences and quality of life of FGM/C survivors.
The Vavengers are now building a change-making board to support the NHS with the execution plan of our three key asks to mitigate healthcare inequalities as outlined in the report. The Vavengers have already secured Dr Leyla Hussein OBE and Campaign Ambassador Sabrina Elba on the board for continuous support, and the ongoing convening meetings and events will be co-organised by our CEO and Patron. We are now in the recruitment process to onboard prominent healthcare leaders and other House of Lords representatives to continue our efforts to secure results in the coming decade.
Our sector celebration reception with over one hundred charity partner organisations in attendance
Following our meeting at the House of Lords with the NHS Chiefs, we held a sector reception at our workplace, to celebrate this win as a collective one.
You can find the full report delivered at the House of Lords on 22nd May here.