Catherine was preyed upon for one year. At its worst, the health care worker would sneak into her room 6 times a week and do what he had to as quickly as he could. Worse yet, he infected Catherine with an STD.
"It was total manipulation. He was saying, Jthis is your way out' ... At the time you believe anything ... You latch on to that hope because you don't have much hope in anything else. He would come in to my room every night and rape me ... But who is going to believe a mental patient over a highly respected member of staff?" said Catherine. (By David Collins, January 13, 2014; Mirror: Raped Sixty Times in Hospital: Mental Health Patient Reveals Shocking on Wards Dubbed "Playgrounds for Predators)
"At times I was on a very heavy amount of Valium, not to where I was unconscious, but the sedative combined with my already defeated self, I was like putty ... He would pull the covers back, do what he had to do and leave, all very quickly. I didn't move, said Catherine." (ibid)
In 2004, Catherine built up the courage to tell a nurse about what'd happened, and she also filed a report. Staff members at Little Brook Hospital now knew about what was happening.
The health care worker pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful sex with a patient. He received a one year sentence, suspended by two years, thereby spending no time behind bars for any of his heinous crimes. On a better note, Kent and Medway NHS Trust ordered that the health care worker should never work with vulnerable persons again.
Ironically, Catherine had initially entered the Little Brook hospital following a nervous breakdown, resulting from being in an abusive relationship for 10 years. Catherine is now in her 40s. In 2003-2004 she received 100,000 Pound Sterling compensation for her ordeal.
FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION:
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a procedure that has been practiced for at least two thousand years, believed to have begun in the Arabian Peninsula or in the horn of Africa. FGM is still practiced in parts of Africa and the Middle East.
Some immigrants from affected areas living in the western world have transported FGM to their adopted home. There's no religious compulsion to perform drastic FGM, but the cultural aspects of this procedure is so deeply ingrained into the mindset of some ignorant, and in many cases misogynist people.
FGM is usually performed on teens, however, younger girls and in uncommon cases babies may have the procedure performed on them.
FGM FALLS INTO 3 CATEGORIES:
-Partial removal of the retractable fold of the skin and the tip of the clitoris.
-Chlitoridectomy involves the complete removal of the clitoris and the labia.
- Infibulations include a chlitoridectomy and a partial closing of the vagina in order to allow for urine and menstrual blood to flow. This is the least common form of FGM.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 140 million women around the world are currently living with one form of FGM. The statistics from other sources put the numbers at 90 to 140 million. The girls may be told not to touch or even look at their genitals following the procedure. Some don't even know that they've been sexually mutilated until they have completed sex for the first time.
FGM is not performed for medical reasons or to promote better health. On the contrary, there are possible short and long-term complications including the following:
-Psychological shock and terror just before, during and immediately following the procedure.
-Death, although rare, has occurred.
-The instruments of use look terrifying.
-Many victims are forcefully held down, by males or a combination of males and females, most often including relatives. Girls scream, plead, cry and try to kick and flail their body and limbs. All to no avail, I've never heard of a single case of a girl escaping the procedure.
-FGM is well-planned. The victim may be tricked into going to a particular place for the procedure.
-Envy and jealousy are often apparent. JI had to do it, now you have to'.
-Lifelong mental stress (flashbacks, nightmares or night terrors, recurrent thoughts, etc.).
-Distrust or disdain for family members involved in the procedure.
-In a culture rife with FGM a young victim may have no one to complain to.
-Sexual dysfunction or pain during intercourse, or remembering the event every time intercourse is performed.
-Never enjoying sex.
-Partial or complete retardation of pleasure within the affected areas.
-Lifelong yearning or hoping to un-due the procedure.
-FGM is most often not performed by a qualified health professional.
-The instruments are usually crude and may not be adequately sterilized. Instruments that are used may include a shard of glass, tin, knife, scissors or razor.
BELOW ARE POSSIBLE MEDICAL COMPLICATIONS OF FGM:
-Bacterial infection or an overwhelming bacterial infection.
-General infection
-Urine retention
-Excessive bleeding.
-Tissue damage in and around the mutilated area.
-Abrasions
-Sores
-Cysts
-Abscesses
-Excessive growth of scar tissue.
-Urinary tract infection
-Urinary incontinence.
-HIV AIDS
-Hepatitis B
-Corrective procedure may be needed.
-Failure to properly heal.
-Reversal of some procedures may be required for normal birthing.
-Anaemia. Worse yet, many of the victims live in poor villages or countries. There may not be enough food to eat and drinking water may not be clean. Furthermore, medical personnel and medication may not be readily available.
The idea behind FGM is to eliminate or profoundly reduce a woman's sex drive ensuring that she remains chaste. It's also considered a rite of passage. Naturally the males in the community are never expected to endure the same punishment. If the same were to be done to a male, it would entail the removal of both testicles and a permanent deadening of the nerves of the glans penis (head of the penis).
Amnesty International is trying to eradicate FGM. Today, FGM is considered a human rights issue, and rightfully so.
Families who live in North America that opt for a female relative to undergo FGM will send her to their native homeland or to