FGM Programme

Over 137,000 women and girls in England and Wales have undergone FGM. It has devastating lifelong physical and psychological impacts and yet many vulnerable women have no access to support services.

For 15 years Manor Gardens has been raising awareness about Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), influencing the national agenda. We continue to educate parents and leaders so that they do not practise FGM on their daughters and break the cycle.

“My sister and I never spoke about the effect it was having on us. I feel so much more confident to express myself now.” – Dahlia service client

Manor Gardens established the Dahlia Project, the first specialist counselling service in the UK dedicated to supporting survivors of FGM and other harmful practices, with Dr. Leyla Hussein OBE, a renowned campaigner, survivor, and psychotherapist. The service is now led by Njomeza Kartallozi, clinical specialist with over a decade’s expertise in working with women, survivors of sexual trauma, and survivors of FGM and harmful practices.

Njomeza Kartallozi describes why the Dahlia Project is vital. “Psychotherapy is a western style treatment, and it can be quite challenging to introduce it to people whose cultures don’t have a tradition of self-analysis and where therapy does not exist. For these women, the aim of the therapy is that they will have a chance to rebuild their lives and be able to start living a life of their own. Once they do open up, they often experience a huge relief and it can be very healing as, perhaps for the first time, they are able to go through the darker roads with their therapist’s support and as a witness to their struggles.”

The Dahlia Project supports more than 70 survivors of FGM each year.

You can find out more about our Dahlia work which provides survivors of FGM with life-changing support. We also enable women to continue their journey through our facilitated Empowerment Groups.

For more information email us or ring 07483 334 954.

The Dahlia Project