Council conclusions - Preventing and combating all forms of violence against women and girls, including female genital mutilation (2014)

The Council of the EU adopted Conclusions on Preventing and combating all forms of violence against women and girls, including female genital mutilation in 2014.

The Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) Ministers called on Members States and the European Commission to:

• develop and undertake effective multidisciplinary actions through coordinated services to eliminate female genital mutilation,
• collect and disseminate reliable, comparable and regularly updated data on the prevalence of female genital mutilation at EU level as well as at national level,
• promote appropriate training to all relevant professionals in order to address female genital mutilation,
• ensure women and girls' access to specialised support services, including health care services,
• ensure effective implementation of national laws prohibiting female genital mutilation taking into due account the rights and best interests of the child,
• provide clear guidelines at national level for granting the benefit of international protection to women and girls at risk of female genital mutilation.

The Council of the EU also called on Member States, EEAS and the European Commission to strengthen their support to partner countries in combating all forms of violence against women, including the elimination of female genital mutilation, inter alia through support to non-state actors.