Pope Francis has called for the world to “act decisively” to stamp out human trafficking and female genital mutilation, which he called a “scourge.”
The comments were made on Sunday as the Pope gave his weekly Angelus address to crowds at Saint Peter’s Square.
“Today is the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation,” the pontiff said.
“Approximately three million girls undergo this operation every year, often in conditions that are very dangerous to their health.
“This practice, unfortunately widespread in various regions of the world, demeans the dignity of women and gravely undermines their physical integrity.”
Female genital mutilation, also known as female circumcision, is the practice, traditional in some cultures, of partially or totally removing the external genitalia of girls and young women for non-medical reasons. Though illegal and condemned in many countries, it is still widely practiced throughout the world.
According to the HSE, since 2011, there have been about 3,780 women and girls in Ireland who have been victim to this practice. As the HSE’s website on the entry from 2021 reads:
The Criminal Justice (Female Genital Mutilation) Act 2012 in Ireland makes it a criminal offence to remove a girl from the state to mutilate her genitals.