Irish Seanad passes Female Genital Mutilation Bill

The Criminal Justice (Female Genital Mutilation) Bill 2012 has been passed by the Irish Seanad. The Bill stipulates that “it is a crime to remove a girl from the State for the purposes of undergoing FGM; allows the prosecution of anyone who performs the act in another jurisdiction in which FGM is illegal on a woman/girl usually resident in Ireland; removes the argument of consent or culture as a defence; explicitly refers to FGM as a human rights violation and a form of gender-based violence; protects medical professionals by providing clarity on what does and does not constitute FGM and provides protection for victims during legal proceedings.“

Chief Executive of AkiDwA, Salome Mbugua said: “AkiDwA has campaigned tirelessly to end the cruel and out-dated practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) since our inception in 2001.  The passing of this Bill is a huge victory for AkiDwA, and FGM campaigners everywhere.”

Colm O’Gorman, Executive Director of Amnesty commented: “we would like to take this opportunity to commend the commitment shown by Minister for Health James Reilly and his department officials in ensuring the progression of this Bill. In doing so, the Minister has taken a key step towards fulfilling the State’s obligations to ensure this practice is fully abandoned here and around the world.”

Tanya Ward, the Alliance’s Chief Executive, says: “Today is a great victory for children’s rights in Ireland.  This legislation brings Ireland in line with the original 15 European Union Member States, 12 of which have legislation on FGM.  We welcome the fact that there will now be an outright ban on the practice of FGM in Ireland.  We also welcome the fact that this legislation will help to prevent a girl from being taken out of Ireland overseas to her family’s country of origin to undergo FGM.  Up to now, this has been a very real and serious risk for children living in Ireland.  

Click here to see a press release from Akidwa.

Click here to see a press release from Amnesty.
 
Click here to see a press release from Children’s Rights Alliance. 

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