FGM is not a cultural rite of passage. It is a violation of human rights. It is a form of violence that leaves physical, emotional, and psychological scars that last a lifetime. And yet, too often, survivors are left to navigate the consequences alone.
As a trauma ambassador and survivor‑activist, I have seen the same patterns repeat themselves:
• Survivors facing discrimination when seeking healthcare
• Survivors being disbelieved or dismissed
• Survivors carrying shame that never belonged to them
• Survivors struggling to access justice or support
• Survivors silenced by fear, stigma, or community pressure
Ending FGM requires more than statements of solidarity. It requires action — real, sustained, survivor‑centred action.
We need institutions that understand trauma.
We need policymakers who listen to lived experience.
We need healthcare systems that treat survivors with dignity.
We need education that challenges harmful norms.
And we need to recognise that survivors are not a single story — our experiences intersect with race, migration, disability, class, and gender.
But perhaps most importantly, we need to centre survivor leadership.
Survivors are not passive recipients of support. We are experts. We are advocates. We are the ones who understand the nuances, the silences, the cultural dynamics, and the barriers — because we have lived them. When survivors lead, the movement becomes more grounded, more honest, and more effective.
Grassroots organisations like Women of Grace play a vital role in this work. We are the ones who sit with survivors in their darkest moments. We are the ones who build trust where institutions have broken it. We are the ones who hold the movement together, often with limited resources but limitless determination.
Zero tolerance must mean zero silence. Zero excuses. Zero harm.
I want to close with the words that have become the anchor of my own healing and activism:
“They wounded my body, but they could not silence my spirit. What they tried to take from me became the fire that guides me. And now that I have reclaimed my voice, I will use it to protect every girl whose voice has not yet been heard.”
On this Zero Tolerance Day, may we honour survivors not with pity, but with action.
May we protect girls not with promises, but with change.
And may we continue to build a world where every girl grows up whole, safe, and free.
About the author
Valerie Lolomari MBE is a resilience coach, speaker, and founder of Women of Grace UK, supporting survivors of female genital mutilation (FGM) and gender-based violence.