More than 2,100 Female Genital Mutilation Victims Seek Help in London Hospitals

Nearly 2,100 victims of female genital mutilation (FGM) have undergone medical treatment in London hospitals since 2010, reveal media reports.

FGM, also called female circumcision (FC) and female genital cutting (FGC), is a ritual performed on girls usually without the use of anaesthesia.

This inhuman ritual is performed in about 28 countries like north eastern Africa, Egypt, Middle East, Ethiopia and also in some parts of Asia. Girls living in Britain are taken to these countries for FGM or the cut, some of the girls are as young as five years old.

Around 300 women needed surgery to recover from this cruel ritual, according to reports.

Twelve children were operated in London's hospitals. This included a girl who was left with an open wound. Though FGM is illegal in UK, an increase in such cases has been observed. Around 20,000 young girls are believed to be at threat of this ritual and about 66,000 women are thought to be dealing with its after-effects.

The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) launched a helpline  (0800 028 3550) this June to protect young girls from this cruel tradition, according to a report.

"These statistics show a very significant number of women are being treated for FGM.  But there are still lots out there who are not being identified because they don't know where to go for help, aren't being referred by GPs or are too scared to come forward," Dr. Comfort Momoh, a specialist in dealing with these injuries at St. Thomas' Hospital, said in a Daily Mail report.

FGM is becoming more common in UK and experts say that these newly revealed figures are extremely shocking but they believe the number of victims to be much higher than the disclosed figures.