Edit Bauer (PPE). - Madam President, as this discussion is showing, we all agree that data on women and girls affected by FGM are more than shocking. It was mentioned that more than 140 million women have experienced this type of violence. The most affected countries are Egypt, Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan, where prevalence rates can be as high as 98%. In other countries, such as Nigeria, Kenya, Togo and Senegal, the prevalence rate varies between 20% and 50%, but it is not present only in Africa. FGM takes place in parts of the Middle East too, for example in Yemen, Oman, Iraqi Kurdistan, and among some Bedouin women in Israel as well.

Statistics released recently by Unicef, analysing data from 29 countries in Africa where FGM is most prevalent, show that 18 of these countries are in West and Central Africa and that FGM affects one fifth of young girls in sub-Saharan Africa itself. Bearing in mind that FGM is mostly carried out on young girls between infancy and the age of 15, we should speak about a serious breach of children’s rights as well as equally serious violence against girls and women. As a result of immigration and refugee flows, FGM is now being practised by ethnic minority populations in other parts of the world, including the European Union. As mentioned, we have an estimated 500 000 women and girls at risk.

Ten Member States have specific criminal law provisions on FGM, but on the basis of existing criminal codes it can be prosecuted as a criminal offence in all Member States. In addition, all Member States, in the process of prosecuting FGM, have recognised the legal principle of extraterritoriality. In certain Member States, high prevalence was detected, for example in France, where the estimated number is more than 60 000, and in the UK, with more than 65 000. Although, as mentioned, there is provision for prosecution in FGM cases, in the EU this is still rare, so what we need is law enforcement.