Government Minister Lynne Featherstone praises Female Genital Mutilation charity on visit to Rochdale

Lynne Featherstone with NESTAC founder Peggy Mulongo, volunteers and FGM survivors

International Development Minister, Lynne Featherstone, has praised a Rochdale charity for the work that it is doing locally to tackle Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).

On Monday 13 October, the Minister visited NESTAC (New Step for the African Community), a local charity established to provide support to Africans and immigrants in Greater Manchester.

During her visit, she met a number of people affected by FGM, volunteers and Founder Peggy Mulongo to learn more about the organisation’s projects.

The visit comes as the government is taking a wide range of action to end FGM in the UK and Africa and to protect victims through legislation and non-legislative work.

International Development Minister, Lynne Featherstone said: “We have a diaspora with 25,000 girls at risk each year.

“In this country, there are very closed communities where it is very hard to get information. It is such a deeply embedded cultural tradition that there’s a whole bevy of things that rests on a girl being cut – her marriage prospects, her cleanliness, not to be ostracised – there’s a range of things that hold it all in place and it is how you get people from within to want to change their behaviour.

“The work of NESTAC to get youth ambassadors, to involve members of the community and to support survivors to actually work within their communities really is the answer because it is from within and it is people who can speak with a real voice. Congratulations to everyone who works there.”

As well as directly helping victims, NESTAC works to raise awareness of the issue of genital mutilation and runs bespoke training sessions for front line personnel such as healthcare practitioners and schools. Projects include the SOS (Support our Sisters) clinic at St Mary’s Hospital and other joint-working initiatives alongside local health and well-being practitioners.