Doctor at NHS hospital and another man become first ever to be charged with carrying out female genital mutilation

  • Dr Dhanuson Dharmasena, 31, is from Whittington Hospital, north London
  • Concerns were raised about a birth in hospital's maternity unit in 2012
  • It is alleged he carried out the procedure helped by Hasan Mohamed, 40
  • Doctor qualified in London in 2005 with a bachelor's degree in surgery
  • The charges are first ever brought under the Female Genital Mutilation Act
  • Prosecutors have dropped four other cases due to insufficient evidence
  • FGM criminalised in 1985 and is thought to have happened to 66,000 in UK

The first charges in British history over female genital mutilation have been brought against two men - one of whom is a doctor.

Dr Dhanuson Dharmasena, 31, who was working at the Whittington Hospital in north London, and 40-year-old Hasan Mohamed, who is not a medic, will face charges under the Female Genital Mutilation Act.

It is claimed the doctor from Ilford, east London, carried out the procedure on a woman who had given birth at the hospital's maternity unit in November 2012.

Mohamed, of Holloway, north London, is accused of encouraging and helping him, prosecutors said.

Arrest: The first charges in British history for causing female genital mutilation have been brought against two men. One, Dr Dhanuson Dharmasena, works at the Whittington Hospital in north London

Arrest: The first charges in British history for causing female genital mutilation have been brought against two men. One, Dr Dhanuson Dharmasena, works at the Whittington Hospital in north London

The men were interviewed under caution in August last year and today the Crown Prosecution Service announced it was charging them.

Dr Dharmasena qualified from the University of London in 2005 with a bachelor's degree in surgery, according to General Medical Council records. He is not listed as a specialist or GP.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: 'The charges follow an investigation by officers from Islington borough after an allegation was reported to police via a third party.

'Various inquiries were carried out in consultation with the CPS and in August 2013 two men were interviewed under caution.

'A file was submitted to the CPS who have today taken the decision to charge the two individuals.'

A Whittington Hospital spokesman told MailOnline: 'Concerns were raised by Whittington health clinicians in November 2012 following a patient giving birth in our maternity unit.

'The Trust took these concerns extremely seriously, immediately launching our own investigation and reported them to Islington Police.

Charges: The Whittington Hospital. It has not been said where the procedure is alleged to have taken place

Charges: The Whittington Hospital. It has not been said where the procedure is alleged to have taken place

Court hearing: The pair who have been charged are due to appear before Westminster Magistrates' Court

Court hearing: The pair who have been charged are due to appear before Westminster Magistrates' Court

'CUTTING' IS A CULTURAL TRADITION

Scalpel - stock photo

The tradition originated in ethnic groups spread throughout 28 African countries, including Egypt, Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan, and spread across the world as groups emigrated.

The circumcision or 'cutting' is carried out for cultural reasons, often because it shows a girl's virginity on her wedding night.

FGM is defined as any partial or full removal of a woman's outer sexual organs. It can also involve sewing up the vagina.

In cultures where the tradition is common, 'uncut' girls can be thought more likely to be promiscuous, unhygienic, and prone to diseases such as HIV/Aids.

The procedure is traditionally carried out by an older woman with no medical training and without any anaesthetic or antiseptics, risking infection.

Their basic tools include knives, scissors, scalpels, pieces of glass or razor blades. Iodine or a mixture of herbs is placed on the wound to tighten the vagina and stop the bleeding.

Prosecutors in today's case have not specified what type of procedure is alleged to have been carried out.

It is thought as many as 66,000 women in the UK have suffered FGM with 24,000 girls under 11 also at risk.

Source: MailOnline / Forward UK

'We referred the matter to what was then the London Deanery (now Health Education North Central and East London) which is the appropriate training authority.

'The Trust has its own specialist Female Genital Mutilation service. The staff have extensive experience in dealing with FGM, the sensitive issues surrounding it and providing support to women.'

The charges come less than five months after MPs launched a major inquiry into the cultural practice, which is thought to have been carried out on around 66,000 women and girls in Britain.

Home Affairs Select Committee chairman Keith Vaz said he wanted to tackle the reasons why no one had ever been charged with FGM offences since the practice was criminalised in 1985.

Today prosecutors said they had also looked at four other cases - one of which was new and three that were reconsidered after decisions to take no further action - and found there was insufficient evidence to bring charges.

One of the old cases involved a man calling an FGM helpline, intended for victims, to ask for the procedure to be carried out on his two daughters.

The new case involved two parents accused of taking their daughter abroad to have FGM.

The CPS would not give details of the other two cases.

The pair who have been charged will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on April 15.

FGM has been a criminal offence since 1985, and in 2003 the maximum sentence was increased from five to 14 years in jail.

Prosecutors are considering another four cases of alleged FGM, and are in early discussions with police about another two.

Director of Public Prosecutions Alison Saunders, who will appear before the Home Affairs committee next week, said: 'The CPS was asked to consider evidence in relation to this allegation of female genital mutilation by the Metropolitan Police Service.

Accused: The pair's hearing on April 15 will be their first appearance before magistrates

Accused: The pair's hearing on April 15 will be their first appearance before magistrates

'It was alleged that following a patient giving birth in November 2012, a doctor at the Whittington Hospital, in London, repaired FGM [female genital mutilation] that had previously been performed on the patient, allegedly carrying out FGM himself.'

Dr Dharmasena has been charged with an offence contrary to section 1(1) of the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003, police said.

The section specifically forbids anyone from removing or mutilating part of a woman's genitals.

Mohamed has been charged with two counts - intentionally encouraging an offence of FGM under section 44(1) of the Serious Crime Act 2007, and aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring Dr Dharmasena to commit an offence under section 1(1) of the FGM Act.

Speaking generally, Ms Saunders told the Evening Standard it is notoriously difficult to bring charges under FGM laws because victims are afraid to give evidence.

'It is a very difficult injury to talk about,' she said. 'It is an abuse of their body and it is not a part of the body that people want to talk about in public.'

The Home Affairs Select Committee, led by MP Keith Vaz, pictured, is investigating the practice of FGM

The Home Affairs Select Committee, led by MP Keith Vaz, pictured, is investigating the practice of FGM

Commander Mak Chishty, Britain's top police officer in charge of FGM cases, said in a statement: 'Across the country, police are working extensively to investigate and build strong cases against those suspected of inflicting or aiding or abetting female genital mutilation (FGM).

'Today’s charging decision demonstrates how much gravity the police, prosecutors and government places on ending FGM.

'Female genital mutilation is a barbaric crime that has no place in modern day Britain. The police are committed to working closely with health services, schools, colleges, social services and third sector organisations which have an understanding of this form of abuse and can help us reach those who may be at risk.

'Prosecutions of those who continue this horrific and outdated practice should signal a warning to those who’ve committed or are considering inflicting female genital mutilation as well as anyone who assists them or stays quiet when they know this abuse been committed.

'We are pursuing offenders and working to bring them to justice so that we can protect victims – some of them painfully young - and stamp out this appalling crime.'

The NSPCC's head of child protection John Cameron added: 'Today’s announcement by the Crown Prosecution Service sends out a strong message that they are taking FGM seriously.'

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