Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Immigration) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I rise to take note of the ministerial statement in relation to International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation made in the House of Representatives on 6 February 2013.

I note that yesterday, 6 February 2013, was the International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Mutilation. I would like to note for the record exactly what we are talking about when we refer to female genital mutilation. It is defined by the World Health Organisation as 'all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.' And when we talk about the procedure itself, it should never conjure up the idea that someone is lying in a hospital bed, that they have been properly anaesthetised and that a doctor is performing this procedure. When this procedure is performed, more often than not, the common tool of trade is a pair of rusty scissors, a sharp knife or, potentially at its worst, even a sharp rock.

It is estimated that female genital mutilation is practised in 28 countries in western, eastern and north-eastern Africa, in parts of the Middle East, and within some immigrant communities in Europe, North America and Australasia. It is also estimated that between 100 and 140 million women and girls around the world have experienced the procedure, including up to 92 million women and girls in Africa.

Perhaps the most abhorrent part of this practice is that, when it is carried out, it is mostly carried out on young girls up to the age of 15, not over the age of 15. Often these girls are much younger than 15 and, in many cases, are under the age of 10.

In relation to the number of girls internationally who are at risk each year of being subjected to female genital mutilation the World Health Organization estimates that approximately three million young girls worldwide will undergo the procedure each year.

The procedure itself has no known health benefits and is known to be harmful to girls and women in many different ways. To say the least, when you are having this procedure performed without anaesthetic, perhaps by a pair of scissors it is, without doubt, painful and traumatic. And the removal of or the damage to healthy genital tissue interferes with the body's natural functioning and causes immediate and long-term health consequences.

Female genital mutilation is a manifestation of deeply entrenched gender inequality and is recognised as a human rights abuse. It constitutes an extreme form of discrimination against women and girls. It is a violation of the rights of the child; the rights to health, life, security, physical integrity; and the right to be free from torture and cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment.

I personally hold the strong view that, as women living in a free and democratic society, we have a fundamental obligation to speak out and protect the human rights of women both here in Australia and overseas. This position is recognised by UN Women Australia, which has stated:

Australia is strategically positioned and has the ability to effect substantive change for the role of women at national, regional and international levels.

UNIFEM, which is now part of UN Women, considers there to be six forms of violence against women which must be stopped. One of these forms of violence is harmful, traditional practices, which includes female genital mutilation.

We need to stand up for the rights of women and young girls. We need to be prepared to recognise the reality

that female genital mutilation is being practised in Australia, notwithstanding that it is a criminal offence in each jurisdiction in Australia and notwithstanding that this is a practice which we as Australians find culturally abhorrent.

Just last year we saw the arrest of a number of people in New South Wales who had organised or carried out female genital mutilation. One of those who was charged with performing the procedure is a retired healthcare provider. Again, just last year, in my home state of Western Australia year, Western Australia police charged a couple, after it was alleged that they took their daughter, at the age of just one year, over to Bali for her to undergo female genital mutilation. They have also now been charged.

Surely, in 2013, with the technological, medical and social information that we have at our fingertips, the evidence is clear that this is a cruel and brutal procedure to force upon a child.

I would like to commend the World Health Organization on their ongoing work to meet the aim of eradicating female genital mutilation within a generation. Their continued focus on advocacy, research and guidance for health systems has already seen a documented decrease in the number of girls subjected to the procedure.

As has been said by many, including the Minister for Health, who speak out against this practice: one girl undergoing this cruel practice is one too many. One girl suffering from shock and ongoing infections as a result is one too many. One woman experiencing complications in childbirth or the death of a newborn child as a result of her having undergone female genital mutilation is one too many.

Question agreed to.