Justice Department and Federal Partners Recognize Zero Tolerance Day for Female Genital Mutilation

[Gunnar Larson]

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-and-federal-partners-recognize-zero-tolerance-day-female-genital-0


Justice Department and Federal Partners Recognize Zero Tolerance Day for
Female Genital Mutilation

Tuesday, February 6, 2024

Shareright caret
For Immediate Release

Office of Public Affairs

The Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section
(HRSP) joined federal partners, including U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement’s Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center (HRVWCC) and the
FBI’s International Human Rights Unit (IHRU), non-governmental
organizations (NGOs), and others today in recognizing the International Day
of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).

“Female genital mutilation, a form of gender-based violence and child
abuse, will not be tolerated today — or any day — in the United States,”
said Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice
Department’s Criminal Division. “The Justice Department and our law
enforcement partners remain committed to holding perpetrators accountable
and to providing support for victims of FGM using every tool available to
us.”

“Female genital mutilation is a devastating crime affecting the lifelong
emotional and physical wellbeing of survivors,” said Assistant Director
Michael D. Nordwall of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “Ending
this human rights abuse will take a multidisciplinary approach from law
enforcement, including community outreach, education, and training. Today
and every day, the FBI stands with women and girls against FGM and all
forms of violence.”

“This international observance provides an opportunity to recognize this
global issue, while raising awareness of those whose lives have been
claimed or who have suffered life-long effects from this abhorrent
practice,” said Executive Associate Director Katrina W. Berger of Homeland
Security Investigations (HSI). “HSI, along with our global partners, is
dedicated to ending this practice, advocating for victims, and bringing
perpetrators to justice.”

Federal law enforcement agencies have engaged in many initiatives aimed at
protecting those in the United States who have been subjected to, or who
may be at risk of, FGM:

The Justice Department’s Office of Victims of Crime awarded over $5 million
in 2020 and 2021 in three-year grants through a grant program to support
community projects designed to increase direct services, education, and
community partner engagement to stop the victimization of women and girls
through FGM. For more information, please see
www.ojp.gov/sites/g/files/xyckuh241/files/media/document/ojp-news-10302020.pdf
.
Federal law enforcement authorities actively investigate allegations of FGM
within the United States and abroad. Agencies collect tips and leads from
the public and partner with NGOs that will relay information if they
suspect a child is in imminent danger of being subjected to FGM or taken
out of the country for purposes of FGM. Individuals suspected of FGM may be
investigated by the HRVWCC and prosecuted by the Justice Department as
appropriate.
The FBI’s IHRU proactively conducts outreach to NGOs and provides frequent
trainings to educate both the public and the FBI workforce on the FGM
violation. These trainings provide awareness to the public about this form
of abuse, which is a federal crime, as well as provide the FBI workforce
the necessary tools to investigate and prevent instances of FGM.
The Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) administers
federal grant funding authorized under the Violence Against Women Act to
prevent and address sexual assault, domestic violence, and stalking. Funds
from certain OVW grant programs may be used by grantees to provide
culturally specific victim services and responses to FGM.
HSI launched Operation Limelight USA, a premier FGM outreach and education
program, in 2017, which has been recognized domestically and
internationally as a critical outreach effort to combat FGM by the Women in
Federal Law Enforcement and the World Class Policing Awards. Examples of
other agency initiatives aimed at protecting women and girls at risk of FGM
can be found in the STOP FGM Act 2022 Annual Report of the Attorney General.
FGM is a form of child abuse, a serious human rights violation, and, since
1996, a federal crime in the United States. In 2013, Congress amended the
federal FGM statute, 18 U.S.C. § 116, to prohibit taking a girl out of the
United States for the purpose of performing FGM. In 2021, the STOP FGM Act
2020 was signed into law, strengthening existing law by expanding the scope
of punishable acts and increasing the maximum penalty. Violations of this
law may result in imprisonment and potential removal from the United States.

According to UNICEF, more than 200 million women and girls have been
subjected to FGM, which refers to procedures that injure the female genital
organs for non-medical reasons. While primarily concentrated in North,
West, and Central Africa, as well as parts of the Middle East and Asia, FGM
also occurs in the United States.

Established in 2008, the HRVWCC furthers HSI’s efforts to identify, locate,
and prosecute human rights abusers in the United States, including those
who are known or suspected to have participated in persecution, war crimes,
genocide, torture, extrajudicial killings, FGM, and the use or recruitment
of child soldiers. The HRVWCC leverages the expertise of a select group of
agents, lawyers, intelligence and research specialists, historians, and
analysts who direct the agency’s broader enforcement efforts against these
offenders.

Members of the public who have information about victims or suspected
perpetrators engaging in FGM or other human rights abuses are urged to call
the FBI tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or the HSI tip line at
(866) 347-2423. To submit a tip online, visit tips.fbi.gov or the HSI
online form. Tips may be provided anonymously.
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