A European Concern

Female genital mutilation may have been found in certain parts of Africa, Asia and Middle East, but it is now being encountered in Europe as well.

Various services in EU member states, such as the health sector, social services and the police, have been confronted with FGM related issues.

Court cases in France where excisors have been sentenced suggest that FGM may be practiced secretly in certain European countries. However there is no evidence of the scale of the practice of FGM in Europe.

It is more likely that girls or girl infants living in European countries are taken to their countries of origin during holidays to be mutilated. Sometimes the girls do not return when parents fear prosecution upon their return to Europe.

In certain European countries (for example Belgium and Switzerland), research has shown that doctors also perform reinfibulation as they do not consider it as a form of mutilation or they think that it is safer that they carry out the procedure instead of traditional excisors.

However, medicalisation of FGM in any form has been rejected by the European Parliament, WHO and professional organisations such as the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics.

KEY AREAS OF WORK FOR THE EU 

END FGM European Campaign has developed a strategy for the EU institutions to ensure that FGM is prevented and girls and women are protected. This strategy identifies 5 key dimensions that the EU must address to make progress:

1. Collection of data on prevalence of FGM in Europe
2. Accessible and appropriate healthcare for women living with FGM in Europe
3. Better protection mechanisms to address violence against women and children
4. Clear asylum guidelines for those under threat of FGM, and
5. Mainstreaming of FGM in EU’s dialogues on cooperation with third countries where FGM is prevalent

• Read Ending female genital mutilation: A Strategy for the EU Institutions in English or French

• Read the research from 2003 on FGM and the Swiss health care system.