The Home Office FGM Case Study

About the Project

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a procedure where the female genital organs are injured or changed and there is no medical reason for this. A 2015 study estimated that approximately 137,000 women and girls who have migrated to England and Wales are living with the consequences of FGM.

The Home Office identified that professionals who have responsibilities to safeguard and support women and girls would benefit from accessible training on FGM.

The Challenge

Engaging learners with a clear narrative.

The Home Office identified that effective, multi agency training for safeguarding professionals would help improve the support and protection provided to women and girls. Their brief to Virtual College was to create e-learning content which comprehensively addressed what FGM is, its health impact, how to identify women at risk and how to sensitively manage the subject by understanding cultural influences on the likelihood of FGM. Most importantly, the course needed to reinforce the necessity of a multi-agency approach and give learners clear actions.

This e-learning course would be completely free to frontline safeguarding staff, including healthcare professionals, police and educators.

The aims of the project were clear...

• Develop content that comprehensively addressed what FGM is and its health impact.
• Create content that taught how to identify women at risk.
• Find an approach that was empathic and sensitive to the subject and the cultural influences.
• Develop a course that reinforced the importance of a multi-agency approach and provide learners with clear actions.

The Delivery

We worked with The Home Office and delivered the following...

• Worked with a wide range of stakeholders across different partnerships.
• Contextualised the learning to help learners understand the cultural reasoning and increase empathy.
• Ensured we created a style which guaranteed emotional investment and made every element of the FGM practices and prevention unequivocally clear.
• Took care to ensure that the content and activities did not trivialise the subject.

The final e-learning module included:

• A linear narrative approach
• Hand-drawn ‘water colour’ graphic design to complement the narrative
• Interactive elements – quizzes, reflection activities and challenges

The Results

Since the launch of the course, it has had widespread positive and lasting impact for learners and the organisations they work for.

The learning content has been very effective, helping learners retain information and communicate the risks and signs of FGM clearly and sensitively.

Raising awareness of FGM, its types and ‘at risk’ indicators were essential aims for the Home Office.

Analysis of the learners’ evaluations shows the e-learning has undoubtedly achieved this, with long lasting positive effects, and that the overall content strategy has been proven effective.

Overall, the learners themselves feel more knowledgeable and better equipped to deal with the serious and pressing issue of FGM.