State Rep. says female genital mutilation is happening in Maine

PORTLAND (WGME) – Republican Representative Heather Sirocki says her research suggests female genital mutilation is happening in Maine, and she wants to stop it.

“I get private Facebook messages from nurses; I get personal conversation from folks, they're telling me what they're seeing in Maine hospitals,” Sirocki said.

No Maine hospital would confirm they've seen patients needing treatment for FGM procedures, but Sirocki pointed us to MaineCare records, showing eight women in Maine have been treated for complications related to FGM, although it's unclear where the initial procedure was done. In April, a doctor was arrested and charged with performing FGM on young girls in Michigan.

Stop female genital mutilation Twenty-six U.S. states still do not prohibit it, including Pennsylvania

When immigrants from around the world come to the shores of America, they bring with them wonderful culinary and artistic traditions. But some also bring traditions that are barbaric and inhumane. One such practice, prevalent in Africa and parts of the Middle East and Asia, is female genital mutilation. It is now being practiced clandestinely in this country.

Mutilation probe widens as deportation fears mount: Robert Snell, The Detroit News

Detroit — The grand jury investigation of female genital mutilation has spread to at least three more states as federal agents have identified new targets, according to federal court records.

The targets live in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York, according to federal court records and interviews with people close to a criminal case that, until now, was focused solely on conduct involving girls from Michigan and Minnesota.

Female genital mutilation, forced marriages criminalized in Estonia

A legislative amendment that entered into force in Estonia last week criminalizes female genital mutilation and forced marriages.

Although these offenses are not widespread in Estonia, defining them as criminal offenses in law is necessary due to the globalizing world and increased migration, the Ministry of Justice said.

Thousands of Canadian girls are at risk of female genital mutilation: officials

Thousands of Canadian girls are at risk of female genital mutilation, government officials believe. And some are being taken overseas to have the dangerous procedure done — an illegal act known as “vacation cutting.”

Officials from the federal government’s Global Affairs Ministry warn that, as with forced marriage, the “one chance rule” applies to these cases, meaning a professional might get only one opportunity to speak to a potential victim and save her, according to documents obtained by the Star.

And yet Canada has done little to understand the scope of the problem and is lagging far behind other developed countries in efforts to prevent it, experts say.

Woman facing deportation wins reprieve after Theresa May told child faces female genital mutilation on return: UK News

A woman facing deportation to Nigeria has won a reprieve after Theresa May was told her three-year-old daughter faced female genital mutilation if they were returned.

A decision to refuse Lola Ilesanmi's application to remain in the UK has been withdrawn and Ms May has ordered immigration minister Brandon Lewis to personally oversee a review of her case.

Ms Ilesanmi's MP Hannah Bardell, of the Scottish National Party, appealed for Ms May to intervene at Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons earlier this month, telling her that the former RBS employee had been beaten, forced to have an abortion and had her face "smashed with an iPad" by her estranged husband because of her refusal to subject their daughter to FGM.

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MICHIGAN: Female genital mutilation will get you up to 15 years in Michigan prison under new law

LANSING, Mich. –  Doctors, parents and others involved in female genital mutilation in Michigan will face up to 15 years in prison under new laws signed Tuesday that were sparked by an ongoing criminal case involving six young girls.

The legislation stemmed from a federal case against six people connected to an India-based Muslim sect called Dawoodi Bohra who are accused of being involved in the genital mutilation of two girls from Minnesota and four from Michigan. The procedures were allegedly carried out by a doctor at a clinic in suburban Detroit.