Female Genital Mutilation #MyIssueTooCanada

Hello World Pulse sisters, 

I will be speaking at Laurentian University - Université Laurentienne, Faculty of Health Sciences - April 22, 2020, at 2:00 pm EST on FGM. Canadian girls are being taken out of the country to have it performed, and immigrants in the country are not being provided with support to cope with issues that may arise even years after FGC has taken place. 

FGM was added to Canada’s Criminal Code in 1997 under Section 268 in the form of “aggravated assault.” Anyone involved in FGM can be charged parents who willingly participate in or plan for the practice, for example. It is also illegal to take children out of the country to have the practice performed, a concept known as “vacation cutting.” The Criminal Code indicates that any person who commits aggravated assault could face imprisonment for up to 14 years. The damage wreaked on the female reproductive system means that women who have undergone FGM are twice as likely to die in childbirth. They are also more likely to give birth to a stillborn baby.

I encourage you to break the culture of silence around FGM/C by joining the conversation on Twitter #endFGM #YouthEndFGM #MyIssueTooCanada.

Meseret Haileyesus