Only 19 States Outlaw Female Genital Mutilation
The following info on the crimnalization of Female Genital Mutilation in the USA comes from the AHA Foundation website, headed by Ayaan Hirsi Ali.
Currently, only 19 states and the federal government have passed laws prohibiting female genital mutilation. Yet studies suggest that approximately 228,000 girls and women in the U.S. have either suffered FGM or are at risk. FGM has significant and lasting medical consequences for victims. Immediately following the procedure, girls are at risk for severe pain, shock, bleeding, bacterial infection, and injury to nearby tissue. In the long term, girls and women who have suffered this procedure are at risk for recurrent bladder and urinary tract infections, cysts, infertility, and complications during intercourse and childbirth.
Enacting new laws criminalizing FGM in every state would have a significant deterrent effect and would send a strong message that this conduct is not acceptable anywhere in the U.S.
The AHA Foundation achieved its first success in this campaign in February 2012 when New Jersey Senator Loretta Weinberg introduced our model FGM legislation.
Contact your state representatives and encourage them to introduce bills banning FGM in your state. Our model FGM legislation can be found here: AHA Foundation Model FGM Bill. Download Sample Letter to Your Representatives Text for Prohibiting Female Genital Mutilation
Tougher Action on Female Genital Mutilation in New York
In New York, it is a crime to perform female genital mutilation on a girl or consent to having this procedure performed on one’s child. New York State law also requires the Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) to study the risks and dangers associated with FGM and to implement appropriate education and preventative outreach programs in communities that traditionally practice FGM. However, since the implementation of this law in 1997, OCFS has done little to comply with this requirement.
A bill pending in the New York State Assembly – A.2478 – seeks to compel OCFS to comply with the requirement that it study FGM in New York State by requiring the agency to submit an annual report to the Governor and Legislature detailing the results of their study and the community outreach activities engaged in during the previous year. Imposing this new reporting requirement on OCFS would help ensure that the agency is, in fact, devoting time and resources to investigating instances of FGM in the state and reaching out to the community in an attempt to prevent girls from being victimized. Such a report would also provide valuable information about how frequently FGM is performed in New York, shedding much-needed light on a practice shrouded in secrecy.
Go here to read more, see a map of the US that shows what states have laws against this hideous practice and to become an activist on this issue.
