Zero Tolerance for FGM Requires State Laws to Protect At-Risk Girls

WASHINGTON, Feb. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Girls Protection Act of 2011 amended the 1996 federal statute prohibiting female genital mutilation in the United States by adding penalties to prevent what is often euphemistically called, "vacation cutting." Until the Girls Protection Act was passed, vacation cutting was a loophole, allowing minor girls to be taken out of the U.S. for the purpose of cutting off their genitalia for no medical reason.

Today, another loophole remains. Prosecutors in a state that does not have its own female genital mutilation law cannot use the federal statute for the crime unless the victim, cutter, or both, travelled through more than one state with the intent to commit FGM. This does not protect at-risk girls when the crime occurs in their homes and communities within a state that does not have anti-FGM legislation.

Specific FGM laws exist in 26 US states. The remaining 24 states can only prosecute FGM under statutes criminalizing other acts, such as assault, battery, or child abuse. Unfortunately, the facts of a crime rarely fit the requirements of laws not meant for FGM explicitly.

Crimes are defined in law based on the intent and actions of the perpetrator. Prosecuting FGM as child abuse, a sex crime, or even assault and battery, require some kind of motive to harm or experience sexual gratification. These reasons do not explain why FGM is performed. Those involved in FGM rarely see it as harmful. They view it as necessary to the health and happiness of the girls by increasing their chances for better marriages and protecting their honor. Therefore, prosecuting FGM under these existing statutes is flawed.

Alaska, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Ohio, and Pennsylvania are currently considering legislation against female genital mutilation. Lawmakers can use the passage of the Girls Protection Act, and the subsequent Transport for Female Genital Mutilation bill signed by President Obama, as examples of bipartisan cooperation in enacting FGM laws. The advocacy efforts of Equality Now brought both sides together on the transport bill. The spirit of bipartisanship extended to university students and activists who rallied together to champion the act and set important models for future coalitions.  

UNICEF and WHO recognize FGM as a human rights violation and an act of gender-based violence. Working together in the spirit of true bi-partisanship, state legislators can protect the estimated 513,000 at-girls in the United States. This is an opportunity for everyone to set aside party and politics and work with each other to save at-risk girls from a lifetime of physical and emotional trauma associated with the forced removal of her genitalia. Female genital mutilation should be a crime in each of our 50 states.

Samantha Nerove is Founder/CEO of America Matters, a 501(c)(3) foundation that focuses on issues people care about not party or politics. She's a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel, paratrooper, and combat veteran.

SOURCE America Matters

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