The female genital mutilation trials: what went wrong?

The female genital mutilation trials: what went wrong? Thursday 17th October 2019, 6pm. Exeter University, Building One (Business School), Constantine Leventis Teaching Room, Streatham Campus. Marge Berer To date there have only been five prosecutions under the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003. The first four, against medical practitioners, all failed, but the fifth, against the parents of a of a 3 year-old girl, ended in the conviction of the mother (R v N, 2019). Marge Berer attended all of the trials and will speak about why the first four failed, and about problems with the fifth trial, in particular the manner in which a 'witchcraft narrative' assumed great significance in that case. Marge Berer is the founding editor Reproductive Health Matters and was the first chairwoman of the Gender Advisory Panel, WHO department of Reproductive Health and Research from 1996 to 2001. Now an independent researcher, she is the author of The Berer Blog.