In February 2015, Dr. Dhanuson Dharmasena was found not guilty of committing female genital mutilation (FGM) on a mother after delivering her baby. The practice of female genital mutilation was outlawed in England and Wales in 1986, yet in 2012 he was charged after stitching a mother after the birth of her first baby at Whittington Hospital in London. The woman had undergone type III female genital mutilation (parts of the labia sewn together) and incisions had to be made in order to safely deliver the baby. She was then resutured in an attempt to control bleeding and heal safely. Dr. Dharmasena was charged under the 2003 Female Genital Mutilation Act, the first to be charged with an offense. It was claimed that he had intended to re-close the woman and reinstitute her FGM, something medically unnecessary. However, under the 2003 FGM Act, a doctor is considered exempt from prosecution if their actions involve a surgical operation on a woman in any stage of labor.

Laville, Sandra. “Doctor Found Not Guilty of FGM on Patient at London Hospital.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 4 Feb. 2015, https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/feb/04/doctor-not-guilty-fgm-dh....