MORE THAN 1,600 girls in Ireland are at risk of female genital mutilation (FGM), an NGO has warned.
Dr Salome Mbugua, CEO of AkiDwA, an NGO highlighting the issues faced by migrant women in Ireland, said more needs to be done to protect girls from FGM.
“We have a lot to do to ensure children are fully protected. FGM remains a hidden issue in Ireland, which can take place unnoticed until something tragic happens.
“This is a societal issue that needs everyone’s attention and support,” Mbugua said.
According to the most recent report from the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE), up to 1,632 girls are at risk of FGM in Ireland.
AkiDwA’s analysis of data compiled by the Central Statistics Office in 2017 found that 5,790 women and girls living in Ireland had been subjected to FGM at that time.
FGM is an invasive procedure which entails partial or total removal of female external genitalia or other injury to female genital organs for non-medical reasons.
The procedure is mostly carried out on young girls between infancy and age 15.
A report carried out by Grevio, a Council of Europe group tasked with combating violence against women, last year found there was a 370% increase in demand in 2022 for services provided by a clinic in Dublin which treats females who have undergone FGM.
The report said there was “an exponential surge in requests for support in 2022, estimated at 370% when compared to 2021”.
The increase in the demand for services at Ireland’s only FGM clinic was “linked to an increase in arrivals of migrant women originating from FGM-practising countries”.
The FGM Treatment Service in Dublin estimates that a doubling of resources is required to meet the level of demand, the report adds.
On foot of this increase in demand and Grevio’s visit to Ireland, the Government granted additional, one-off funding of €52,000 in 2023.
The Grevio report noted that while the extra funding last year is to be welcomed, it doesn’t go far enough and “covers only 70% of the needs of this support service”.
AkiDwA and the Irish Family Planning Association, which runs the FGM clinic in Dublin, both receive funding from the HSE.
Speaking last year, Justice Minister Helen McEntee said Irish authorities have a “zero tolerance” approach to FGM.
“It is a violation of the human rights of women and girls, it is illegal in Ireland and it is illegal for someone living in Ireland to bring a girl out of the country to undergo FGM,” McEntee said.
AkiDwA has delivered training to over 4,000 healthcare professionals and frontline services in Ireland in recent years so they can better protect females from FGM and support those who have already undergone the practice.
The NGO has also reached out to thousands of people from affected communities, and developed training and awareness materials targeting at-risk groups.
AkiDwA is today launching a new campaign which aims to put an end to FGM. The campaign will officially launch at the Irish Film Institute this evening, with a screening of Heal the Scars.
The film details the life of a young girl who is taken out of Ireland and undergoes FGM. It follows her journey as she becomes a woman and has a child of her own.
The movie was produced as part of the European CHAT Plus project which focuses on changing attitudes around FGM in a bid to eliminate the practice.
FGM was made illegal in Ireland under the Criminal Justice (Female Genital Mutilation) Act 2012.
In 2020, Ireland saw its first-ever conviction for FGM. However, the young girl’s parents had their convictions quashed on appeal in 2021 because of problems with the translation of their testimony to the jury. A retrial is due to take place.
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