Conservatives strive to end the horror of child-mutilation

The scandal of female genital mutilation (FGM) was highlighted in Strasbourg this week, as East Midlands Conservative MEP Emma McClarkin joined other MEPs in voting for a zero-tolerance approach across Europe and the world.

Approximately half a million girls, from the age of only three, are at risk in Europe of being subjected to the barbaric practice of cutting away sexual body parts to fulfil cultural tradition. In the United Kingdom it is estimated that 65,000 girls are at risk.

This week MEPs, including Miss McClarkin, overwhelming voted for a report calling for concerted action across the European Union to end the global disgrace of mutilating women and children.

The resolution urges the EU Commission and its diplomatic arm the External Action Service to take a firm stance against non-European Union countries which fail to condemn FGM. It also demands that member states must pursue, prosecute and punish any EU resident involved in the ritual cutting of the genitals of young girls.

It defines the practice as a gross form of violence against women and children and calls for more thorough data to be collected on its frequency and distribution.

Miss McClarkin said:

“The practice of Female Genital Mutilation is barbaric and disgraceful and must be condemned worldwide. I fully support calls for the Commission and External Action Service to take a firm stance on those countries that do not.

“We must lift the taboo; we must face up to the scale of the problem and reach out to find a way to bring an end to this barbaric practice the world over.”