Female Genital Mutilation in U.S. Up More than 200 Percent Since 1990
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that number of women and girls in the United States who are “at risk of or may have been subjected” to female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) has increased three-fold over the past decades,” however the crime is rarely investigated or prosecuted, according to the Government Accountability Office.
The government attributes the growing incidents of this brutal practice in the U.S. to increased immigration from countries — largely in Africa and the Middle East — where FGM/C is practiced.
According to recent estimates, in 2012, 513,000 women and girls in the U.S. were subjected to or at risk of FGM/C, vastly higher than the 168,000 estimated in 1990....