University of Melbourne refuses to criticise academic who appears to support female genital mutilation

A Melbourne academic says there may be benefits for women who undergo female genital mutilation, and her university — one of Australia’s finest — supports her right to say so.

There may be benefits for females who undergo female genital mutilation, a University of Melbourne academic says. Picture: Adam Taylor

Victoria’s top university says it supports “academic freedom” as one of its professors has instructed students to potential benefits of outlawed female genital mutilation.

Melbourne University political sciences academic Dr Juliet Rogers penned an article related to FGM, a non-medical practise of cutting female genitalia, which is globally condemned by the World Health Organisation and illegal in Australia.

In the article, discussed with students in criminology subject Violence, Trauma and Reconciliation, she writes that for “each claim about any of these practices, which fall under the heading female genital mutilation, there is a counter claim”.

“For each claim that a woman’s sexual health is impacted, there is a study which suggests it is not, and others which suggest it is enhanced,” it reads.

“For each claim of trauma, there is another which claims empowerment.”

In referring to a landmark 2015 criminal case in Sydney where a mother, nurse and Imam were charged, convicted and later acquitted over a ceremony involving two young girls, the article discussed society’s “imagination” over FGM and how repetition of “violent images” informed opinion.

However, in a postscript Dr Rogers seemed to go so far as to advocate for the charged parties, writing that “we can only hope” for acquittal to prevent harm to the girls “subjected to the pain that this legislation and judgment have caused”.

In a statement to the Herald Sun, Dr Rodgers said she believes her aricle “asks us to reconsider issues from a more balanced perspective.

“There are many perspectives on female circumcision, including from the women who experience the practices. My work calls for a keen understanding on the practices and a more considered consultation on the laws which speak to these practices and target these communities.”

Dr Rodger says when teaches about the topic she discusses “the history of the laws, the assumptions about the practices, the contestation in law, and the issues of a lack of curiosity in a political community such as Australia, which supports multiculturalism.

“I discuss the importance of listening to the communities, the women and the children from

practising communities and I discuss the lack of the laws’ application on the bodies of western women.

“I discuss this issue from a criminological perspective which seeks to understand initiatives in criminal law, their application and implication for individuals and communities.”

A Victorian MP and a prominent paediatrician have slammed Dr Rogers’ comments on the practise, which called a maximum jail term of 15 years.

Minister for Women Gabrielle Williams said FGM carried “a risk of exploitation with no medical reason and has the potential for dangerous consequences to health”.

“Female genital mutilation is an extremely concerning practice that violates the human rights of girls and women,” she said.

University of Sydney Professor of Paediatrics and Child Health, Elizabeth Elliott AM said “all types of FGM are traumatic for young girls and potentially harmful”.

That included “the more ‘minor’ procedures such as pricking or nicking and regardless of who performs the procedure and where”.

“FGM is a form of gender-based violence, is an abuse of human rights, and is associated with significant and often lifelong, health and psychological consequences,” she said.

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A Melbourne University spokesman said it had a “policy of academic freedom, so that all scholars at the university can engage freely in critical enquiry and public discourse”.

“The university supports the right of all scholars at the university to hold and express diverse opinions,” he said.

“It also expects that debate on these ideas should be robust and uninhibited.”

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare recently found 53,000 women and girls living in Australia and born overseas had undergone FGM.

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The Royal Womens’ runs a specialised clinic in Melbourne for those who have experienced FGM and provides reversal procedures, but said it was unable to provide statistics.

A number of health experts, women with lived experience and health organisations declined to comment for this story due to the sensitivity of the issue.

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