卫生工作者建议关注FGM(女性生殖器割礼)受害者

Health Workers Advised on Care of FGM Victims 卫生工作者建议关注FGM(女性生殖器割礼)受害者

The World Health Organization has released guidance to help health workers care for girls and women living with female genital mutilation.

About 3 million girls are at risk for female genital mutilation, or FGM, every year, the WHO reports. Many are younger than 15.

Worldwide, more than 200 million girls and women live with the effects of FGM, officials say.

This is the first time WHO officials have produced guidelines on the violent, inhumane custom.

Female genital mutilation is the partial or total removal of external female genitalia or injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.

FGM is performed in 30 African countries and a few countries in Asia and the Middle East. FGM cases have increased in Europe and North America as immigrants move to those countries.

Lale Say is the head of WHO’s Department of Reproductive Health and Research. She says the practice can cause severe pain, bleeding and even death. Those who perform FGM are usually unskilled and use razor blades and other cutting tools that are not clean.

“It has high risks during pregnancy² and childbirth both for the woman who is delivering, but also for her baby. It can cause obstetric tears, difficult labor³ and even loss of a baby at the time of the delivery," she says.

"Other health problems -- longer-term health problems -- include psychological risks, depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder⁴.”

WHO notes that health workers often fail to understand the physical and emotional problems caused by FGM and do not know how to help its victims.

The new guidelines tell health workers how to prevent and treat obstetric problems and how to help women with depression and anxiety disorders⁵.

The guidelines also warn against what is called the “medicalization” of FGM. Medicalization happens when doctors and nurses are convinced to perform FGM.

WHO medical officer Doris Chou says doctors must refuse requests from family members to perform FGM. She says some adults want doctors to do the cutting because they say it is safer for the girls.

“Medicalization is never acceptable because it violates medical ethics⁶, as it is a harmful practice," she says. Medicalization allows FGM to continue, and the risks outweigh⁷ the benefits.

"As health care providers, we actually need to recall that we need to uphold the Hippocratic Oath -- and that is to do no harm.”

WHO says it hopes its advice can help worldwide efforts to end FGM by educating health workers.

Words in This Story

external – adj. located, seen or used on the outside or surface of something

inhumane – adj. not kind or gentle to people or animals; not humane¹

practice – n. something that is done often or regularly

obstetric – adj. related to the birth of children and the care of women before, during, and after they give birth to children

tear – n. a hole or opening in something (such as a piece of paper or cloth) that is made by cutting it or tearing it

labor – n. the process by which a woman gives birth to a baby

delivery – n. the act or process of giving birth

Hippocratic Oath – n. a promise by a doctor to follow ethical practices in medical care

1 humane   

adj.人道的，富有同情心的

参考例句：

• Is it humane to kill animals for food?宰杀牲畜来吃合乎人道吗？
• Their aim is for a more just and humane society.他们的目标是建立一个更加公正、博爱的社会。

2 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

3 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

4 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

5 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

7 outweigh   

vt.比...更重，...更重要

参考例句：

• The merits of your plan outweigh the defects.你制定的计划其优点胜过缺点。
• One's merits outweigh one's short-comings.功大于过。