A University organisation working to end Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) has been granted charitable status as The FGM Education Project, SC054187.
The FGM Education Project was co-founded by Dean for Enterprise & Innovation Dr Heather May Morgan and graduate Dr Victoria Kinkaid, and is run by volunteer students and alumni from the University.
The charity aims to put an end to FGM by educating and collaborating with healthcare professionals and frontline workers. It offers the only University course in the world that educates learners exclusively on FGM, which is free to access and open to all with an interest in eradicating FGM while supporting victims.
The course was developed following a University of Aberdeen survey of UK medical schools that suggested graduating medical students felt under-prepared to deal with FGM in a professional capacity.
Female genital mutilation was made illegal in the UK in 1985 but it is thought that more than 100,000 live with the effects in the country today.
Following news of the course’s success, Kirsty Blackman MP tabled a motion at Westminster and one was also tabled at Holyrood. She also supported the charity’s application to the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator.
Ms Blackman said: “The FGM Education Project, which has recently been awarded charitable status, provides invaluable education for many. Further education for groups such as students, educators and police serves to create a deeper understanding of the physiological and psychological consequences of FGM which affects millions of women worldwide. The project has delivered important education to thousands of people so far and I have no doubt it will continue to do so.”