WRITTEN QUESTION E-3232/00

by Stefano Zappalà (PPE-DE), Antonio Tajani (PPE-DE), Guido Viceconte (PPE-DE), Generoso Andria (PPE-DE), Amalia Sartori (PPE-DE), Giorgio Lisi (PPE-DE) and Mario Mantovani (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(17 October 2000)

Subject: Female circumcision in the European Union

Given that female circumcision:

- is performed on children between the ages of 4 and 12 in around 20 African countries, ten south-east Asian countries and also in Europe;

- consists of the removal of the clitoris, the labia minora and part of the labia majora, and in the suturing of the vulva, with the attendant risk of mental trauma, tetanus, septicaemia, haemorrhaging, sterility and even death (one case in every six);

- has been performed on 140 million women worldwide, including 40 000 in Italy, where a further 20 000 are at risk;

- is performed under cover in unhygienic conditions and in breach of laws on the subject (Sweden, Norway, Germany and Belgium).

Will the Commission say:

1. how widespread this phenomenon is in the European Union and what national laws there are on this matter?

2. whether it believes a proposal for Community legislation should be drawn up to combat this form of torture, including even the withdrawal of economic aid for countries which authorise this practice (a provision already adopted in the United States in 1996) and with provision for deinfibulation to be performed on request under proper medical conditions and for appropriate public information, awareness and education campaigns to be undertaken in non-Community countries?

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(5 December 2000)

1. The Commission and the international community have recognised female genital mutilation (FGM) as a profound violation of the human rights of women. Every year an estimated 2 million young girls undergo this procedure. Most live in Africa and Asia, but an increasing number can be found amongst immigrant and refugee families in Western Europe and North America. The secretive nature of the practice means that figures on the incidence of female circumcision in the Community are impossible to come by. The British Medical Association estimated the number to be 3 000 every year in the United Kingdom.

The Daphne project on FGM in Europe carried out a study in 1998. It shows that the number of migrants coming from FGM risk countries is highest in the United Kingdom (303 454 year not given), France (180 997 in 1997), Italy (133 847 in 1996), Germany (77 795 in 1997) and the Netherlands (56 534 in 1996). Almost half of health care providers have been confronted with FGM complications, and most (92 %) would never perform a FGM procedure (International Centre for Reproductive Health).

Specific laws prohibiting all or some forms of FGM exist in only a few States (Sweden, the United Kingdom and Norway). In the rest of the Community general laws prohibit serious bodily injuries. Many countries in Africa have also outlawed the practice. Sweden was one of the first countries to specifically condemn FGM when it banned health professionals from performing the operation in 1982. The United Kingdom condemned the practice in 1985 by the Prohibition of female circumcision Act. The act is supplemented by the Children act 1989 which provides for the investigation of suspected violations and empowers the courts to prohibit parents from moving their children from the country to have the operation done elsewhere. In Norway the law on prohibiting genital mutilation entered into force in 1998.

2. The Commission is convinced that simply denouncing female genital mutilation and condemning those who perpetrate it would not bring about change. FGM will only disappear if people, including women, are convinced that they could give up the practice without giving up meaningful aspects of their culture. Multifaceted strategies are needed: legislation; education of health and social workers and the dissemination of information emphasising the dangerous health consequences.

In 1999 the Commission approved support ( 470 000) for a pilot activity in Southern Ethiopia by a local organisation, with the specific purpose of decreasing FGM by 25 % in 2002.

Within the new framework strategy on gender equality (2001-2005)(1), the Commission will do its utmost to ensure that the issue of genital mutilation in the Member States retains its rightful place on the agenda and that it receives the serious attention that it deserves from the Community. In this context, the Commission will strengthen its information on human rights of women, both within the Community and in development co-operation and will support networking in order to collect data on gender related violations of human rights.

(1) COM(2000) 335 final.