In France, in 2019, between 40,000 and 60,000 women and girls were cut. Worldwide, they are between 100 and 140 million.
The World Health Organization (WHO) distinguishes 4 types of excision depending on the region of the world and the community where these female genital mutilations are performed: it can be a partial or total removal of the clitoris and its hood, partial or total removal of the clitoris and labia minora, narrowing of the vaginal opening, or any other harmful intervention in the genitals (perforation, tearing, etc.).
This Friday, June 21, 2019, the government launched a “major national action plan” to fight against excision and female genital mutilation. “In France as everywhere in the world, female genital mutilation is inadmissible attacks on the integrity and fundamental rights of women and girls who are victims”, denounced the Secretary of State, Marlene Schiappa. Who added that “no tradition can be invoked” to justify them.
40,000 to 60,000 women affected in France
In France, the women most affected are from Mali, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea. Focused on the identification of risks, prevention and support for women victims, this “major national action plan” thus provides for improving the care of women, “in particular in terms of mental health and sexual health”.
It also provides for the distribution of a “practical guide” intended for healthcare professionals, support for experiments in reconstructive surgery (in the Paris region in particular), and the establishment of “regular data collection tools” ( in maternity hospitals in particular) in order to “better quantify and locate” the phenomenon.
The Secretary of State in charge of Equality between women and men and the fight against discrimination also recalled the sentence incurred for “inciting the sexual mutilation of a minor”: 10 to 30 years in prison.
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