On the occasion of the International Day for Elimination of Violence against Women, the European Commission has today announced – in a strategy paper – a new push to fight female genital mutilation (FGM) in the European Union and beyond. The practice, internationally recognised as a violation of women’s human rights and as a form of child abuse, is thought to have affected 500,000 victims in the EU alone, and more than 125 million worldwide. To fight FGM, the Commission will make full use of future EU funding to help prevent the practice; improve support for victims; support health practitioners, as well as national enforcement of anti-FGM laws; and improve protection under EU asylum rules for women at risk. The Commission and the European External Action Service have also committed to promoting worldwide elimination of FGM through bilateral and multilateral dialogue. Finally, the Commission will encourage more research into the number of women and girls at risk. Today’s action plan is a follow-up to the public consultation on FGM launched by the Commisison in March.

“Earlier this year, the European Commission teamed up with inspiring campaigners to call for zero tolerance for female genital mutilation,” said Vice-President Viviane Reding, the EU’s Justice Commissioner.”Today we are delivering. In an action plan the Commission is reiterating our commitment to combating violence against women and eliminating FGM, both in the EU and at global level. But let’s be clear: the Commisison cannot do it alone. We will work hand in hand with Member States, the UN, NGOs and with the communitites affected. I am convinced that together we will be able to consign female genital mutilation to history.”

“Zero tolerance for female genital mutilation is a policy to which the European Union is committed throughout its external action. We are engaged with partner countries around the world in working towards the eradication of this act that violates the rights of women and girls and harms them in many ways. The adoption of this strategy today is a demonstration of our joint commitment. The EU’s tools and resources, political and economic, will be used to promote initiatives and support laws to help create a world where no girl will have to face this cruel and intolerable practice,” said the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-president of the European Commission Catherine Ashton.

Today’s policy communication from the Commission sets out a series of actions to work towards the elimination of FGM, including:

Better understanding of the phenomenon: developing indicators (through the European Institute of Gender Equality and at national level) to better understand numbers of women and girls affected by and at risk of mutilation;

Prevention of FGM and victim support: making use of EU funding (such as the EU’s Daphne programme, the Lieflong Learning and Youth in Action programme and the future Asylum and Migration fund) to support activities to prevent FGM, raising awareness of the problem, empowering migrant women and girls, and training health professionals and those working with victims. During 2013, the Commission distributed €2.3 million to projects specifically fighting FGM;

More effective prosecution by Member States: support enforcement of the existing national laws prohibiting FGM through the analysis of criminal laws and court cases brought so far, disseminating training material for legal practitioners, and enforcement of rights of victims to specialist support as under EU law;

Protection of women at risk on EU territory: ensuring correct implementation of EU asylum rules (notably the revised Qualifications Directive and the Asylum Procedures Directive) to guarantee protection of women at risk, raising awareness of professionals working with asylum and encouraging Member States to resettle children and women at risk by providing support through the European Refugee Fund and the future Asylum and Migration Fund.

Working to eliminate FGM at global level: addressing FGM in bilateral dialogues with relevant partner countries, working with the African Union and at the United Nations to promote global initiatives against FGM, advocating for improved national legislation and supporting civil society initiatives in countries affected, training and guidance for staff in EU delegations on FGM-related issues.

To ensure the various actions are followed up and remain on the polticial agenda continously, the Commission has also committed to monitoring and taking stock of progress on an annual basis around 6 February: the International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM.

Background

Female genital mutilation (FGM) comprises all procedures involving partial or total removal of the female external genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons, as defined by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

FGM is carried out for cultural, religious and/or social reasons on young girls between infancy and the age of 15. FGM constitutes a form of child abuse and violence against women and girls; it has severe short-term and long-term physical and psychological consequences.

In the EU countries where women victims or girls and women at risk of FGM live, the practice mainly occurs during a stay in the country of origin but there are also indications of FGM happening in the territory of the EU.

A recent report by the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) found that there are victims, or potential victims of FGM, in at least 13 EU countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Spain, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden and the UK. However, it also highlighted the need for rigorous data as a basis for tackling the problem.

The European Commission adopted a ‘Strategy for equality between women and men 2010-2015’ on 21 September 2010, setting out a series of priorities for gender equality, including ending gender-based violence. The strategy included a specific reference to combating FGM. On 6 February 2013 which is the International Day against Female Genital Mutilation, the European Commission reaffirmed its strong commitment to eliminating this extremely harmful practice.

On 6 March 2013, Vice-President Reding and Commissioner Cecilia Malmström joined human rights campaigners to call for zero tolerance for FGM at a high-level roundtable event to discuss how the European Union can help Member States to eliminate the practice. The Commission announced EUR 3.7 million in funding to support Member States’ activities to raise awareness of violence against women and a further EUR 11.4 million for NGOs and others working with victims. It also launched a public consultation on tackling FGM, the results of which helped to prepare today’s policy Communication.

Eliminating FGM will require a range of actions focusing on data collection, prevention, protection of girls at risk, prosecution of perpetrators and provision of services for victims, says the report. Victims of FGM can rely on protection under the EU’s Victims Rights Directive, adopted on 4 October 2012, which explicitly refers to FGM as a form of gender-based violence.

But while all EU Member States have legal provisions in place to prosecute the perpetrators of FGM, either under general or specific criminal laws, prosecutions are very rare. This is due to diffculties detecting cases, gathering sufficient evidence, a reluctance to report a crime and, above all, a lack of knowledge about female genital mutilation.

A separate report by EIGE identified a series of good practices from nine Member States in combating FGM, such as:

A Dutch project to prevent FGM by bringing together healthcare professionals, police, schools, child protection services and migrant organisations;

A French organisation which focuses on bringing prosecutions in cases of FGM by acting as a ‘civil party’ in trials;

A specialised health service in the UK with 15 clinics that cater to the specific needs of women affected by FGM.

Read the strategy paper in full here