BMJ  2006;333:260 (29 July), doi:10.1136/bmj.333.7561.260

Letter

Female genital mutilation: whose problem, whose solution?

Psychological damage is immense

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR—Conroy's concerns about cosmetic surgery in the West are understandable, but he seems to have missed the fundamental differences between it and the genital mutilation of children.¹ When a child is mutilated by adults the procedure constitutes a sexual assault in that the child does not understand what is happening, has no control over it, and does not consent to it. On the other hand, if adults choose, however misguidedly, to reconstruct their genitalia it is with knowledge and agreement. The effect on the psyche of the two processes is quite different.

I found that psychological trauma was correlated with several factors: feeling powerless to influence the event, lack of information given to the patient, the experience of physical pain, a perceived unsympathetic attitude on the part of the examiner, and a lack of clearly understood consent for the procedure.² Other forms of attack on women, such as . . . [Full text of this article]

Bulkington Surgery, Bulkington, Bedworth, Warwickshire CV23 9HF janet.menage@lineone.net

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