LAW & FGM

Fiona Coyle, director of the European Network End FGM shared their vision of legislation and prosecutions.

“Legislation and prosecutions are important, but not always enough. Ending FGM should not only be about prosecution but also, and most importantly, about prevention and protection.”

A few points;

• Istanbul convention

In 2011, the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (also known as the Istanbul Convention) was signed by EU member states and has since been ratified by the majority. This  is the first legally binding instrument in Europe on preventing violence against women and domestic violence, protecting victims and punishing perpetrators.  The comprehensive nature of the convention makes it a practical tool to address FGM. It incorporates existing international human rights law, standards and promising actions to address violence against women. It offers policy makers a wide variety of measures that can be introduced, and offers NGOs and civil society a sound basis  for advocacy. To women and girls already affected by FGM, it sends the message that their stories are being heard. This an interesting document as it goes beyond looking at FGM solely from a criminality perspective.  The End FGM European Network have produced this guide (The Council of Europe, End FGM European Network, Amnesty International, 2014) which shows exactly how the convention can be used and also highlights a number of promising practises;

• What do we mean by ‘law’ and exploring the concept of due diligence

When we talk about the law we should not only look at the perpetrator and the victim (the legislative element) but also at the legal obligations of the state especially under international law and treaties.  In that regard, it’s interesting to look at due diligence. This is a concept which is recognised in existing international law standards and is central to the Istanbul convention. The Istanbul Convention requires state parties to organise their response to violence against women, including FGM, in a way that allows relevant authorities to diligently prevent, investigate, punish and provide reparation for such acts, as well as to provide protection to women and girls at risk (Article 5). In this respect, states are legally obliged to prevent FGM, protect its victims and prosecute its perpetrators by adopting a comprehensive approach involving all relevant actors and agencies in their actions. It’s a recognition that legislation alone is not the solution.

• Considerations in relation to the Law and FGM based on some of our experiences

a) Jurisdiction

Importance of recognising the cross-border element. In Europe, almost all laws contain a clause of extraterritoriality.  

b) law enforcement

It is not enough to have a law.  Enacting a law sends a strong message but this is weakened if there is no awareness of the law.  In this regard, examples of promising practises can be found here (Council of Europe, 2017) but to highlight a few:

Statement documents
Some of our members have been working with their governments to produce statements opposing FGM (UK, Netherland, Germany).  This is an official document in various languages outlining the health risks and the fact that FGM is a criminal offence in Europe.

Protection orders
Female Genital Mutilation Protection Orders (FGMPOs) offer a legal means to protect and safeguard victims and potential victims of FGM. FGMPOs are granted by a court and are unique to each case. They contain conditions to protect a victim or potential victim from FGM. This could include, for example, surrendering a passport to prevent the person at risk from being taken abroad for FGM or requirements that no one arranges for FGM to be performed on the person being protected. The UK issues the highest number of protection orders.

c) Court Cases

Very few  criminal cases are brought to court in Europe. It has been stated that the underreporting of female genital mutilation is likely to be higher than that of any other form of gender-based violence, as it involves children, it has a secretive nature in closed communities and there is limited awareness of all aspects of the law among perpetrators, professionals and society as a whole. Furthermore, cases may not reach court due to a lack of first-hand witnesses or fear of disproportionate punishment for the parents.  The paper linked above explores some of this and looks at promising practices.