Piedmont proposes protocol for girls at risk of FGM

(ANSA) - Turin, September 22 - The northern Piedmont region said Tuesday it will unveil a protocol for taking into care minors at risk of female genital mutilation (FGM).
    FGM is a painful ritual practiced on girls and women with a razor in 27 African countries, Yemen and Iraqi Kurdistan, Asia, the Middle East, and among diaspora communities around the world.
    Piedmont has many women residents from Benin, Cameroon, Egypt, Eritrea, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, and Somalia - and many of them victims of the practice, regional officials said in a statement.
    "The rise in immigration has made it essential that we take this problem on in a non-sporadic way, from both the social and the public health standpoints," the statement said.
    "I am keen to reiterate our region's commitment to preventing and fighting female genital mutilation," regional council member Antonio Saitta said.
    "Many public health operators have been involved, and this must continue in order to defeat the phenomenon".
    Piedmont two years ago signed on to an accord between regions and central government in the fight to prevent and ultimately eradicate FGM.
    Health Minister Beatrice Lorenzin earlier this year said female genital mutilation is a "barbaric practice" that is "unacceptable" in Italy.
    While it is outlawed or restricted in most of the countries where it is practiced, the laws are poorly enforced.
    The United Nations recognized FGM as a violation of human rights in 2012.
    Over 150 million girls and women worldwide have experienced some form of FGM, according to the UN.
    According to UNICEF, some three million girls die from the practice per year.