Metro Nashville school nurses have not received formal training on how to spot potential cases of female genital mutilation despite state lawmakers drawing attention to FGM with legislation in 2012. The 2012 law requires health care providers to report injuries related to FGM, a brutal practice in parts of Africa, the Middle East and Asia that has been brought into the West through immigration. In the U.S., Tennessee is ranked 18th in state rankings for potential risk for women and girls, according to the Population Reference Bureau. The Tennessee Star has found that state and local agencies have not established clear guidelines and procedures for building awareness and documenting FGM cases to comply with the spirit and intent of the 2012 reporting law, which was passed to support state legislation in 1996 making FGM performed on a minor a felony. School nurses in Metro Nashville Public Schools are required to take an annual training course on reporting child abuse but it makes no mention of FGM. The Metro Nashville school district has refugee and immigrant students from Somalia and other parts of the world where FGM is practiced. “The annual course does not cover FGM specifically,” said Brian Todd, a spokesman for…
Read the full storyMetro Nashville School Nurses Receive No Formal Training On Female Genital Mutilation
