Hundreds of millions of women and girls around the world have experienced the excruciating pain of their genitalia being cut by trusted community members. Female genital mutilation/circumcision (FGM), the partial or total removal of external female genitalia, is a human rights violation that demands immediate and ongoing attention. The practice of FGM denies women autonomy over their bodies and perpetuates harmful views about women’s sexuality.
With increased global migration, FGM rates have been increasing in the United States. While FGM is illegal federally, states must increase their efforts to fight FGM through legislation. Although Minnesota has existing legislation addressing these issues, Minnesota can improve its FGM legislation by defining FGM more clearly, imposing criminal penalties for those facilitating FGM, and eliminating the possibility of invoking a religious defense, for example.
This Note explores FGM’s prevalence in the United States and Minnesota and discusses how legislation can be used to more effectively help individuals at risk of FGM. This Note also discusses some of the negative implications of FGM legislation but ultimately argues that legislation remains one of the most effective tools for preventing FGM.