DID YOU KNOW?

THE NUMBERS

AkiDwA, Ireland’s network for migrant women (akidwa.ie), estimates that there are at least 6,000 women affected by FGM/gender-based violence living in Ireland.

THE IRISH LAW

Thanks to the advocacy of Ifrah Ahmed and tireless campaigning of AkiDwA, the Criminal Justice (Female Genital Mutilation) Act 2012 makes it a criminal offence for someone resident in Ireland to perform FGM or to take a girl to another country to perform it.

SUPPORT SERVICES

It is estimated that around 500,000 girls and women in the EU are living with the lifelong consequences of FGM (physical and mental), and that every year a further 180,000 children are put at risk from this harmful practice. “Migrant women still suffer in silence,” explains AkiDwA’s head of operations Salome Mbugua. “As a society, we’re all responsible, and we need more support, particularly outside Dublin, where services can be inaccessible.”

NATIONAL ACTION PLAN

AkiDwA is continuing to work towards a national action plan to combat FGM. “A national, State-led action plan is needed to guide

State agencies like Tusla, the HSE, and Gardaí on how to build partnerships with communities to eradicate FGM,” says Mbugua.

“We can’t achieve as we would like without support from the State going forward.”