2018 UPDATE 2: FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION
Whereas #1 in 1992 NCWC had an Emergency Resolution urging the Government to pass legislation making female circumcision illegal in Canada and in 1996, part of a multi-faceted Emergency Resolution, urging the Government to:
- specifically state that the practice of female genital mutilation is illegal in Canada
- continue to expand its involvement in an education program to educate Canadians regarding the health risks associated with female genital mutilation and to work closely with those communities where the practice is more prevalent; and
Whereas #2 in 1997 the Parliament of Canada passed an amendment to the Criminal Code of Canada prohibiting all forms of genital mutilation in Canada and prohibiting the transport of a child outside Canada for the purpose of obtaining female genital mutilation; and
Whereas #3 federal officials believe that girls are being sent abroad to undergo female genital mutilation, known as “vacation cutting,” and that practitioners are being brought to Canada to perform the illegal procedure on girls; and
Whereas #4 there has never been a successful prosecution in this country for performing female genital mutilation; therefore be it
Resolved #1 that the National Council of Women of Canada (NCWC) adopt as policy that girls be protected from female genital mutilation in Canada and from being sent abroad for the procedure; and be it further
Resolved #2 that NCWC urge the Government of Canada to protect girls from female genital mutilation in Canada and from being sent abroad for the procedure by:
- tracking and reporting cases of female genital mutilation
- designing a data collection system to analyze the reported data
- communicating the analysis to the public in a transparent manner
- taking proactive measures to prevent the practice
- charging and prosecuting those suspected of the offence or aiding, abetting and/or counselling it.