TY - JOUR
T1 - Female genital mutilation of minors in Italy: is a harmless and symbolic alternative justified?
AU - Di Pietro, Maria Luisa
AU - Teleman, Adele A.
AU - Faggioni, Maurizio P.
PY - 2012
Y1 - 2012
N2 - In 2004, Omar Abdulcadir - a gynecologist of the Centre for the prevention and therapy of Female Genital Mutilation (FMG) at the Careggi Hospital (Florence) - proposed a “harmless and symbolic” alternative to female genital mutilation, which consists in the puncture of the clitoris under local anesthesia, in order to allow the outflow of some drops of blood.(1) The intention behind the symbolic alternative is to avoid more severe forms of FGM while respecting cultural heritage. This option could result advantageous especially in the case of FGM of minors, whose immigrant parents are resolved to travel to their countries of emigration in order to obtained it.
The proposal of this alternative procedure, which was sustained by the leaders of 10 local African immigrant communities, has encountered ample criticism.(1) However, the question is: is the puncture of the clitoris prohibited by the Italian Law n. 7/2006? If it is not, could it be considered a method of reducing health risks caused by the more invasive forms of FGM?(2) Or could it culturally legitimize FGM, causing a greater difficulty in the attempts to prevent and eradicate FGM in Italy?
AB - In 2004, Omar Abdulcadir - a gynecologist of the Centre for the prevention and therapy of Female Genital Mutilation (FMG) at the Careggi Hospital (Florence) - proposed a “harmless and symbolic” alternative to female genital mutilation, which consists in the puncture of the clitoris under local anesthesia, in order to allow the outflow of some drops of blood.(1) The intention behind the symbolic alternative is to avoid more severe forms of FGM while respecting cultural heritage. This option could result advantageous especially in the case of FGM of minors, whose immigrant parents are resolved to travel to their countries of emigration in order to obtained it.
The proposal of this alternative procedure, which was sustained by the leaders of 10 local African immigrant communities, has encountered ample criticism.(1) However, the question is: is the puncture of the clitoris prohibited by the Italian Law n. 7/2006? If it is not, could it be considered a method of reducing health risks caused by the more invasive forms of FGM?(2) Or could it culturally legitimize FGM, causing a greater difficulty in the attempts to prevent and eradicate FGM in Italy?
KW - female mutilation
KW - minors
KW - female mutilation
KW - minors
UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10807/40100
U2 - 10.2427/7533
DO - 10.2427/7533
M3 - Article
SN - 1723-7807
VL - 9
SP - 68
EP - 70
JO - Italian Journal of Public Health
JF - Italian Journal of Public Health
ER -