Female genital mutilation: a guide to laws and policies worldwide

This book is the product of collaboration between the Center for Reproductive Law and policy and the Research Action and Information Network for the Bodily Integrity of Women. It focuses on the international human rights aspects of female circumcision/female genital mutilation (FC/FGM) and surveys and analyzes laws passed to address the practice in different countries. The first part of this book consists of five chapters. Chapter 1 provides background of FC/FGM and gives a brief history of actions taken on the global level to bring attention to the practice. Chapter 2 looks in-depth at the internationally accepted human rights norms that support a womans right to freedom from FC/FGM while Chapter 3 examines governments duty to address FC/FGM and to draw a framework of action from the provisions of human rights treaties. Chapter 4 translates that framework into concrete recommendations for governments. Finally Chapter 5 reviews past and existing strategies in addressing FC/FGM with recommendations for specific legal actions that may be taken by nongovernmental organizations at national regional and international levels. Moreover the country-by-country review section in the second part of the book is a summary of legal regulatory and policy initiatives taken thus far in countries around the world.