Midwives in Malta meet victims of genital mutilation regularly when carrying out check-ups on pregnant women, many of them migrants who suffered the procedure before coming to Malta, a seminar on Friday heard.
The seminar, entitled ‘Talking Lips’, was organised by the Malta Girl Guides Association to raise awareness about the practice, which is illegal in Malta.
Female genital mutilation, or FGM, involves the partial or complete removal of the external female genitalia for non-medical reasons.
It is internationally recognised as a violation of human rights.
Laws against FGM were introduced in Malta in 2013.
According to midwife Antoinette Saliba, many of the women often suffer in silence for a number of years and rarely speak about their situation, only addressing the issue when meeting their midwives.
Apart from the physical harm that comes with having undergone FGM, Ms Saliba said that many of the women suffer from psychological trauma that needs to be addressed.
Many of the women often suffer in silence for a number of years and rarely speak about their situation
“One also needs to keep in mind that in cases where there are migrants involved, there is also the notion of the language barrier that can make it harder for us to offer the women the help they need.”
Ms Saliba said that it was important that those studying midwifery were given the proper guidance about how to deal with such cases. At present, the more seasoned midwives offered their guidance through experience, she went on. Ms Saliba also added that it also crucial to educate men, especially if they come from cultures where FGM was practised regularly.
According to the Malta Girl Guides, who organised the event as part of their ‘Stop the Violence’ campaign, more than 140 million girls around the world have experienced genital mutilation.
The practice was until a few years ago most common in Western, Eastern and North Eastern Africa, as well some Asian and Middle Eastern countries.
However, with an increase in the number of migrants from some of these countries, the phenomenon has become more commonly seen here too.