Endorsed by

  • Baroness Rosie Boycott

    Patron, Journalist and Member of the House of Lords

  • Baron Victor Adebowale

    Entrepreneur, Member of the House of Lords and Chair of the NHS Confederation

  • MOPAC

  • End FGM European Network

  • Desert Flower Foundation

  • Orchid Project

  • The Royal College of Midwives

  • Dahlia Project

We have a problem.

The UK is suffering from FGM/C data poverty. Without accurate data, key decision-makers and support providers are unable to reach FGM/C survivors, provide meaningful services, or end this form of abuse for good.

  • An estimated 137,000 women and girls live with FGM/C in England and Wales. However, the actual figure is likely far higher.

  • Many existing cases go undetected, resulting in women and girls not receiving the healthcare and support they need.

  • Cases are often only detected if a survivor receives a physical examination from a medical professional.

  • Between 2019 and 2020, 6,590 cases were identified in the UK during an NHS appointment.

  • The average age of survivors identified was 32 years old, and 98% of them reported that they had been subjected to FGM/C at least 10 years prior.

Most survivors have lived silently with FGM/C for a large part of their adult lives

Currently, a healthcare professional will only ask verbally if a woman has been subjected to FGM/C, and only if they suspect something, or feel there is a reason to do so. Most survivors we work with reported not being asked this question when they were under 18, although the majority reported having multiple complications caused by FGM/C.

Asking a woman or girl if they have been subjected to FGM/C is not a mandatory practice in the UK.

only One Question needs to be asked…

In 2015, a data collection scheme was rolled out at North West NHS Trust London, led by The Vavengers Co-founder Hoda Ali and Activist Aissa Edon (both survivors) to address the Trust’s lack of data on the scale of FGM/C. All female patients were invited to fill out a simple, confidential form, without a confronting conversation or traumatic consultation. This was conducted during primary and urgent healthcare visits.

The tick-box format ensured every visiting female patient was asked, no one was racially profiled, and any assumptions based on the patient's background were eliminated. 

The scheme retrieved significant data on FGM/C, previously unattained by any other organisation. Due to its success, the questionnaire was implemented as a permanent policy in the hospital’s safeguarding programme and the one question continues to be asked in patient forms.

Our Projected Outcome

  • Ask One Question

    Add the one question “Have you been subjected to FGM/C?” to our national database and all patient forms across GPs, healthcare clinics and A&E check in points.

  • Make reconstructive surgery available under the NHS

    UK to catch up to exemplary inclusive healthcare for survivors provided by a number of European countries by providing the option of reconstructive surgery for FGM/C survivors.

  • Provide holistic mental health services for FGM/C survivors

    FGM/C is a lifelong trauma. We need FGM/C survivors in the UK to feel included in the mental health system and receive a life-long mental health support tailored to their specific needs.

What happens when she isn’t asked?

  • The appropriate healthcare is not provided

  • A survivors’ wellbeing is not supported

  • A survivors may not be informed that what happened to them was illegal and a form of abuse

  • Another child risks being cut

Dr Leyla Hussein OBE ‘What if you knew’ campaign - The Vavengers, 2021

Hoda Ali, Sexual Health Nurse and Co-founder of The Vavengers

“We added the questionnaire onto our new and returning patients forms. Thanks to our clinic asking this simple question to all women and girls visiting, many survivors of FGM were informed that FGM is a form of abuse and as survivors they had legal rights. The education was provided and so many new cases were prevented, and data collected, thanks to asking this simple question. We gained invaluable insight and the ability to go on and help women and girls that would otherwise have gone unnoticed.”

Credit

  • Campaign deck and page written and researched by Ellie Melvin, Communications & Campaigns Manager at The Vavengers.

  • The original One Question Campaign was completed by The Vavengers founding members including Soraya Ali, Mabel Evans, Hoda Ali and Megan Barclay. Its creation process was supported pro-bono by Purpose London. The present One Question Campaign has been developed further and rolled out by the current Vavengers team.

  • What if you knew campaign was produced by The Vavengers with Janet Fyle MBE, Aissa Edon and Dr Leyla Hussein OBE acting as themselves (FGM/C survivors) and as professionals working to end FGM/C.