A Staffordshire Police Cadet has received an excellent grade at school for her work to raise awareness of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).
Emily Williscroft, a cadet at the Cannock unit, became an ambassador for FGM last year in order to educate other cadets and young people on the signs and side effects. Emily received an A grade after she chose to do her English speaking and listening exam about FGM.
FGM, sometimes called female circumcision, involves the partial or total removal of the external female genital organs for non-medical reasons. It usually happens between the ages of four and ten and can have serious consequences for a woman’s health and in some instances lead to death.
FGM is a hideous crime which almost always goes unreported and around 24,000 girls are currently at risk of FGM across the UK which means that this is a problem that cannot be ignored in Staffordshire.
Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner Sue Arnold said: “Female genital mutilation is a hideous crime which almost always goes unreported.
“Around 24,000 girls are currently at risk of FGM across the UK which means that this is a problem that cannot be ignored in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent.
“I was very pleased to offer Emily the chance to be an ambassador to educate the other cadets about FGM and I am so pleased to hear she has been so successful in her exam. More young people need to be educated to raise awareness and help prevent FGM.”
Emily said: “I did work experience in the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner in August last year and this is where I first heard about FGM. I was so shocked when I found out about it, but amazed at the same time at how little knowledge some people have on the subject and therefore I wanted to spread the word.
“I was then made the ambassador of FGM for the cadets and attended an FGM conference. Since then, I have been visiting the other cadet units across Staffordshire to explain what FGM is, what the signs are to look out for and the side effects, short and long term that it can leave people with.
“I did my English speaking and listening exam on FGM, which proved to me that we need to continue to spread the work through the lack of understanding show in the questions that I was asked by my teacher. I will continue to work on FGM to hopefully make a difference and put a stop to it.”
