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Who would have thought? Most people are of the impression that Female Genital Mutilation, FGM, is an 'African' or a 'Middle Eastern' problem but we see here from what the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, is saying, that it has been happening in the United States.
Female genital mutilation, also called cutting or FGM, involves partial or total removal of the external genitalia for non-medical reasons, with no apparent health benefits.
Since 1996, it has been illegal to practice FGM in the US.
More than 500,000 women and girls across the country, mostly living in metropolitan areas, have been circumcised.
A report showing the number of women at risk was published in January by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the figure was much higher than previously estimated. A separate report last year by the non-profit Population Reference Bureau (PRB) determined that women and girls most at risk were concentrated in major cities like New York, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., where there are large diaspora immigrant communities..
The FBI is proactively investigating tips and leads on this illegal practice. Investigators are hoping victims and community members who are opposed to it will come forward and report cases, as long as it is being carried out in the US.
Practitioners claim they are abiding by deeply rooted beliefs and traditions. But it is more broadly seen as a human-rights violation. “It reflects deep-rooted inequality between the sexes and constitutes an extreme form of discrimination against women and girls,” the U.N. said in a statement.
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