FGM Finland

Finland: Minister of Family Affairs says it’s time to consider FGM being banned……..


Think about it, they’re still debating the issue….

Minister: Finland should consider ban on female genital mutilation

Finland is the only one of the Nordic countries that lacks a law explicitly prohibiting female genital mutilation (FGM), which remains a traditional practice in some African, Middle Eastern and Asian countries.

 

Finland’s new Minister of Family Affairs and Social Services, Annika Saarikko, says that the government should consider legislation specifically forbidding female genital mutilation (FGM), in line with other Nordic countries.

 

Saarikko made the comment late Monday on Yle current affairs TV programme A-studio, which was focusing on violence against women.

 

“I think we should consider whether female genital mutilation should be criminalised in Finland as it in the other Nordic countries. I think that would be good,” Saarikko said. At present the practice is prosecuted under Finnish law as a form of assault.

 

Strict bans in Scandinavia

 

In 1982, neighbouring Sweden became the first western country to specifically outlaw FGM in the country, later extending the ban to cover procedures performed on Swedish citizens abroad. Norway, Denmark and Iceland also have strict laws.

 

According to the World Health Organisation, FGM remains a tradition among people from 30 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. It notes that the practice, typically performed on girls under age 16, can cause severe health problems or even death, and is a human rights violation.

 

Last autumn the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and the Foreign Ministry co-hosted a Nordic conference in Helsinki focusing on FGM from the standpoint of human rights and gender equality.

 

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