Up to 5,790 women and girls in Ireland have suffered 'hidden' abuse of female genital mutilation
Dr Salome Mbugua says there is 'a lot to do' to ensure children in Ireland are protected.
Female genital mutilation (FMG) is “a hidden issue” in Ireland even though as many as 5,790 women and girls are estimated to have been subjected to the practice, an NGO working with migrant women has warned.
A new campaign, launched on Monday by AkiDwA, hopes to make young people more aware of these risks and raise awareness of this abuse which is illegal in Ireland.
These are procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons, the World Health Organisation has said.
Dr Salome Mbugua, CEO of AkiDwA, said there is “ a lot to do” to ensure children in Ireland are protected from these risks.
"FGM remains a hidden issue in Ireland, which can take place unnoticed until something tragic happens," she said.
The non-government organisation has worked with data gathered by the Central Statistics Office to get a picture of what is happening here.
Dr Salome said analysis of this up to 2017 showed that at any time, “5,790 women and girls living in Ireland have been subjected to FGM”.
On the CSO website as part of work on gender equality, published in 2019, it also stated: “Since 2011, there have been about 3,780 women living in Ireland who have undergone female genital mutilation.”
The situation in Ireland was also analysed by the European Institute for Gender Equality as part of research across the region in the last decade.
Its report indicated that at any point in time up to 1,632 migrant girls or women are at risk, mainly those from Nigeria, Somalia, Sudan, Egypt, and Sierra Leone.
This latest AkiDwa campaign opens with a showing on Monday evening in Dublin of , examining what FGM means for women living in Ireland. It is funded as part of the EU ChatPlus project.
AkiDwA has also trained more than 4,000 healthcare professionals and frontline service workers to raise awareness in hospitals and other services.
The first conviction for FGM here was in 2020 when the parents of a young girl were sentenced to time in prison.
At the time, An Garda Síochána said: “It is a heinous and barbaric practice which is a criminal offence in Ireland.
“Ireland has a long and proud history of embracing traditions and customs from abroad, however there can be no ‘welcome’ for any activity which brings harm to children.”
However, later court reports show that these convictions were quashed on appeal after the original trial was ruled unfair.
FGM is illegal in Ireland under the Criminal Justice (Female Genital Mutilation) Act 2012.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
