Seán Kenny (Dublin North East, Labour)

With the permission of the House, I will share time with Deputies Anne Ferris and Joe Costello.

The Criminal Justice (Female Genital Mutilation) Bill 2011 is most welcome. Legislation banning female genital mutilation is long overdue in Ireland. In Britain, FGM legislation was passed in 1985. I must say that Ireland has been very slow in catching up.

Senator Ivana Bacik introduced legislation on behalf of the Labour Party to the Seanad on the issue in April 2010. That legislation had support from all the political parties and Senator Bacik is to be commended for pursuing the issue. The Government has now adopted the Bill so that, at last, Ireland will have specific legislation prohibiting female genital mutilation.

International research shows the enormous dangers to the health of women and girls represented by the barbaric practice of female genital mutilation. The NGO AkiDwA estimates that over 3,000 women living in Ireland have undergone FGM, so it is very clear this is a pressing issue, particularly for migrant women and girls and their families.

Female genital mutilation is recognised internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and women. It reflects deep-rooted inequality between the sexes and constitutes an extreme form of discrimination against women. It is nearly always carried out on minors and is a violation of the rights of children. The practice also violates a person's rights to health, security and physical integrity, the right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and the right to life, when the procedure results in death.

The WHO says that between 100 million and 140 million girls and women worldwide are living with the consequences of FGM. In Africa, about 92 million girls aged ten years and above are estimated to have undergone FGM. In 1997, the World Health Organisation issued a joint statement with the United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF, and the United Nations Population Fund, UNFPA, against the practice of FGM. A new statement, with wider UN support, was then issued in February 2008 to support increased advocacy for the abandonment of FGM.

The 2008 statement documents new evidence collected over the past decade about the practice. It highlights the increased recognition of the human rights and legal dimensions of the problem and provides current data on the frequency and scope of FGM. It also summarises research about why FGM continues, how to stop it and its damaging effects on the health of women, girls and newborn babies.

In February 2010, a study by Pharos, a Dutch group that gathers information on health care for refugees and migrants, found that many women who have undergone FGM in Holland suffer psychiatric problems. This was the first study into the psychiatric and social complaints associated with this practice. In the study, 66 Dutch African women, who had been subjected to the practice, were found to be "stressed, anxious and aggressive". It also found that they were more likely to have relationship problems or, in some cases, had fears of establishing a relationship. Given all of this, I am delighted that Ireland will have legislation specifically prohibiting the practice here and ensuring that anyone resident in Ireland who takes a girl abroad to have FGM performed there will be subject to prosecution in Ireland. This practice is damaging to women and its prohibition is the correct step forward.

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