PARLIAMENTARY CAMPAIGN "STOP VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN":
FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION
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India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Luxembourg |
Country-specific information on the current state of national legislation dealing directly or indirectly with the issue of female genital mutulation reproduces the contents of the official communications received to date from national parliaments. Other reliable information, contained in the documents published by the United Nations and the World Health Organization, is also taken into consideration. Whenever necessary, it is specified that the IPU has not received any official information directly.
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| INDIA |
- Current status: Female genital mutilation is not prevalent in India.
- Legislation: India has not adopted any law on the subject.
- Operational structure: not applicable.
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| INDONESIA |
- Current status: As per a university study reported by WHO, certain forms of FGM were practised in parts of Indonesia in the past and various non-cutting rituals involving the clitoris reportedly persist. However, the IPU has no first-hand official statistics or other details on this subject.
- Legislation: The IPU has no information on the existence of specific legislation.
- Operational structure: not applicable.
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| IRELAND |
| updated the 27 July 2006 |
- Current status: Female genital mutilation is not prevalent in Ireland.
- Legislation: Under the provisions of Irish law, the act of FGM constitutes an offence under the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, 1997
- Operational structure: not applicable.
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| ISRAEL |
- Current status: Falasha women (Ethiopian Jews who migrated to Israel between 1984 and 1990) and Bedouin women may be subjected to the practice of genital mutilation. However, the IPU has no first-hand official statistics or other details on this subject.
- Legislation: The IPU has no information on the existence of specific legislation.
- Operational structure: The IPU has no information on this subject.
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| ITALY |
- Current status: Female genital mutilation reportedly affects girls and women of certain immigrant populations, primarily Somali, Eritrean and Ethiopian women. However, the IPU has no first-hand official statistics or other details on this subject.
- Legislation: The IPU has no information on the existence of specific legislation.
- Operational structure: The IPU has no information on this subject.
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| JAPAN |
- Current status: FGM is not practiced among the Japanese. In addition, no case of FGM practiced by foreign residents in Japan, including those from African countries, has been reported to the Japanese Government.
- Legislation: Although no provisions outlawing FGM are in force, the Japan Penal Code (Act No. 45 of 1907) provides as follows:
Article 204 (Bodily Injury)
A person who causes another to suffer bodily injury shall be punished with imprisonment with forced labour for not more than 15 years or a fine of not more than 500,000 yen.
Article 205 (Bodily Injury Resulting in Death)
A person who causes another to suffer bodily injury resulting in death shall be punished with imprisonment with forced labour for a fixed term of no less than 3 years.
Article 206 (Instigating Bodily Injury)
A person who at the scene of the crime prescribed for in the two preceding Articles instigates the offender in committing the crime shall, even though the person does not cause another to suffer bodily injury in person, be punished with imprisonment with forced labour for not more tan one year or a fine of not more than 100,00 yen or a petty fine.”
In addition, medical practice performed by registered doctors is considered a reasonable force and, in principle, not punishable. However, there is no judicial precedent has ruled whether parental consent makes FGM on the young non-punishable.
- Operational structure: Structures dealing with the issue of FGM as a domestic problem do not exist because no case of FGM has been reported in Japan.
- Other information: In August 2003, Japan, the Government of Sudan, and UNICEF jointly held a symposium for the eradication of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in Khartoum. (...) The symposium deepened the understanding of the Government of Sudan, local concerned organizations, NGOs, and citizens and aroused the strong political will to eradicate this problem. This project was revolutionary since it was the first project by the Government of Japan to cooperate with the government of a developing country to improve concrete human rights situation. Japan has donated (funds) to cover the cost of holding the symposium and implementing projects to eradicate FGM. Japan hopes that this initiative will not be restricted to Sudan but spread to the neighbouring countries which practice FGM, and will have good effects such as spreading the movement toward eradication of FGM (http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/oda/white/2003/part2_2_2_5.html).
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| KENYA |
- Current status: According to a 1998 survey, 38% of women aged between 15 and 19 years old were estimated to have undergone female genital mutilation: excision or circumcision. In some Kenyan communities, the rate of women between the ages of 15 to 19 years who have undergone the practice is as high as over 80%. The practice in Kenya is mostly a rite of passage from childhood to adulthood. Excision is considered a process to prepare girls for marriage. Traditionally excision ceremonies have been community affairs involving the whole community. However, with increased resistance against the practice, trends are gradually changing due to health reasons and possible resistance from girls. Parents are increasingly resorting to medial professionals to perform the operation at an early age.
- Legislation: The prohibition of female genital mutilation is one of the measures contained in the 2001 Children’s Bill passed by Parliament. However, Parliament has not yet forwarded the references and text of the law to the IPU. In 1996, a motion outlawing excision was defeated in Parliament. Efforts to ban excision started in 1982, when the Head of State publicly condemned the practice following the death of 14 girls arising from complications of the operation. No health official is authorised to carry out such an operation without specific permission from the Director of Medical Services.
- Operational structure: Following a national symposium on excision, in 1998, a national Focal Point - a collaborative and coordination centre against the practice - was born. The Focal Point consists of 19 member organizations, among them the Ministry of Health and mainstream women organisations. They conduct grass root campaigns against the practice.
- National plan of action: The Ministry of Health has a national Action Plan on Excision.
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| LESOTHO |
- Current status: Female genital mutilation is reportedly not practised in Lesotho. However, the IPU has no first-hand official information on this subject.
- Legislation: The IPU has no information on the existence of specific legislation.
- Operational structure: not applicable.
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| LIBERIA |
- Current status: Excision and, to a lesser degree, circumcision are reportedly practised in most parts of Liberia by three groups. According to the World Health Organization, the prevalence was between 50% and 70% in 1984. However, the IPU has no first-hand official statistics or other details on this subject.
- Legislation: The IPU has no information on the existence of specific legislation.
- Operational structure: A Liberian National Committee conducts research, trains volunteers and provides health training on the harmful effects of FGM.
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| LIBYAN ARAB JAMAHIRIYA |
- Current status: Female genital mutilation is reportedly not practised in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. However, the IPU has no first-hand official information on this subject.
- Legislation: The IPU has no information on the existence of specific legislation.
- Operational structure: not applicable.
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| LUXEMBOURG |
- Current status: Such practices do not exist in the country and immigrants do not include nationals from countries where such practices are traditional.
- Legislation: No specific legislation to prevent, combat or sanction FGM has been adopted. Only the provisions of the Penal Code are applicable.
- Operational structure: not applicable.
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Female genital mutilation: table of contents