FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION FROM INTERDISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVE
FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION FROM INTERDISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVE

Summary/Abstract: Female genital mutilation encompasses all acts that intentionally alter or causelesions to the female genital organs without medical reasons to justify them. Currently,female genital mutilation is a reality that affects more than 200 million women acrossthe world and to which around 2 million girls and adolescents are subjected every year.The practice of female genital mutilation is considered a crime in all member States ofthe European Union. To combat female genital mutilation through the power oflegislation in Spain, within the wider context of eliminating the different forms ofdiscrimination against women and in response to specific contractual internationalobligations incurred by Spain, two laws have been passed. The first of these, L. O.11/2003, approved September 29th, amends the Criminal Code, such that a new crimeof female genital mutilation is defined, which modifies article 149 of the Criminal Code.The second law, L. O. 3/2005 of July 8th, amends theOrganic Law on the Judiciary (LeyOrgánica del Poder Judicial), to permit the extraterritorial prosecution of the practiceof FGM. Here we analyze the existing legal protections to put a stop to this practice,which violates the right to personal and physical integrity of girls and women,constituting a violation of human rights based on the victims belonging to the female sexand to the social role assigned to them. These breaches demand new instruments aimedat preventing any discrimination, among which gender violence is one of the mostextreme forms.

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