- EDITIONS: Spanish News Today Murcia Today Alicante Today
Date Published: 07/02/2022
ARCHIVED - Some 1,700 girls at risk of genital mutilation in Andalusia
Nationally, almost 4,000 females are estimated to be in danger across Spain
Female genital mutilation (FGM) refers to “all procedures involving the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, as well as other injuries to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons”, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
This brutal and controversial practice potentially affects some 3,652 girls across Spain, with Andalucía being home to the second-highest concentration of females at risk from this type of gender violence, second only to Catalonia. According to data released on Friday February 4 by Save the Children, around 1,700 girls could face genital mutilation in Andalucía. The provinces which account for the largest number of girls facing this dismal situation are Seville, Malaga and Almeria, and their main countries of origin are Nigeria and Senegal.
Thankfully, the risk posed to young girls born in Spain has been significantly reduced due in large part to the concerted efforts of the health services over the years, but women born in countries that practice female genital mutilation and arrive in Spain at a later date are still in grave danger.
Both at the national and Andalusian levels, efforts are focused on the prevention, detection and protection of girls at risk of suffering genital mutilation and on care for those who arrived in Spain already mutilated.
Spain introduced a national action plan against the practice back in 2015 and the Andalusian Protocol for Sanitary Action against Gender Violence has been fighting its own battle locally. The community also has a manual for professionals to deal with this practice which highlights, among other points, the gender and intercultural approach to deal with any type of intervention that involves working with immigrant communities.
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