Senegal

FGM AND CULTURE

The form of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) practiced in Senegal is type II (commonly referred to as excision) and Type III (commonly referred to as infibulation). They are most common among Muslim groups in the eastern part of the country. Most Senegalese women, however, have not undergone either procedure. It is growing less common due to urbanisation and education. Type III is the excision (removal) of part or all of the external genitalia (clitoris, labia minora and labia majora) and stitching or narrowing of the vaginal opening, leaving a very small opening, about the size of a matchstick, to allow for the flow of urine and menstrual blood. The girl or woman’s legs are generally bound together from the hip to the ankle so she remains immobile for approximately 40 days to allow for the formation of scar tissue.

According to UNICEF insight from statistical analysis in 2021, Senegal is home to nearly 2 million girls and women who have experienced FGM. Overall, 25 percent of girls and women have undergone the practice, varying from over 90 per cent in Kédougou to just under 1 per cent in Diourbel. There is substantial variation in Kolda the prevalence of FGM across ethnic groups: Among Soninké and Mandingue/ Socé girls and women, two thirds have experienced the practice, while FGM is exceedingly rare among Serer and Wolof populations. Ninety percent of the females who undergo one of these procedures are between two and five years of age. The age when the procedure takes place differs with the ethnic group. It is generally performed by women of the blacksmith’s caste who are said to be gifted with knowledge of the occult, without the use of anaesthesia. It is carried out sometimes as part of a puberty initiation rite.

FGM AND LAW

Senegal has a civil-law system based on French law; judicial review of legislative acts is undertaken in the Constitutional Court.

The Constitution of Senegal (revised in 2001) does not explicitly refer to violence against women and girls or harmful practices; more generally, Article 5 prohibits discrimination and Article 7 guarantees the equality of men and women. Although not directly referencing FGM, Article 7 does provide protection against all physical mutilation as follows: ‘The human person is sacred. It is inviolable. The State has the obligation to respect it and protect it. Every individual has the right to life, to liberty, to security, to the free development of his personality, to corporeal integrity, notably to protection against all physical mutilations.’

The first legislation in Senegal to expressly prohibit FGM was Article 299 bis introduced in January 1999 into the 1965 Penal Code2 (Article 299 bis). This is the main law in Senegal criminalising and punishing the practice of FGM.

Article 299 bis defines FGM as harm to the female person’s genital organ by ‘total or partial excision of one or more of its elements, infibulation, anaesthetisation, or any other means.’ It goes on to outline the criminal offences related to both the performance and procurement of FGM. This article also criminalises aiding or abetting FGM.

Article 49 of the original 1965 Penal Code criminalised and punished anyone who has knowledge that a crime, in general, is going to be undertaken, but fails to report it to the relevant authorities. Article 299 bis does not, however, directly address the failure to report FGM, whether it has taken place or is planned.

In addition, Law No. 2005-18 (dated 5 August 2005) on Reproductive Health in Senegal5 sets out in Article 4 that the relevant services to be provided by government include those specifically tackling FGM, sexual abuse and practices harmful to reproductive health. Article 13 states further, ‘All forms of violence, sexual abuse or inhuman or degrading treatment are penalised in accordance with the penal provisions in force.’

PENALTIES

Article 299 bis establishes the following criminal penalties for violation:

The performance or attempted performance of FGM carries a punishment of imprisonment for six months to five years.
If the FGM procedure results in death, the penalty will be forced labour for life.
The procurement, aiding or abetting of FGM also carries a punishment of imprisonment for six months to five years.
The maximum penalty applies if members of the medical or paramedical professions perform or assist an FGM procedure.

While Article 299 bis does not criminalise nor set out a punishment for the failure to report FGM, Article 49 of the Penal Code states that general failure to report a crime or offence against the bodily integrity of a person is punishable by imprisonment of three months to five years and a fine of between 25,000 and 1 million Francs (approximately US$45–US$1,8006).

CASES

Since the amendment to the Penal Code in 1999, few prosecutions for FGM have taken place in Senegal (as few as eight in total, according to many reports). Case details are very limited and information about whether sentences were followed through is not widely available.

In May 2010, the Kaolack Court of Appeal sentenced a perpetrator who performed FGM to six months’ imprisonment, and the accomplices were given a three-month prison sentence.
In July 2007, the Kolda Regional Court judged a case in which a child had died after FGM. The person who performed the FGM as well as two accomplices were sentenced to a threemonth suspended prison sentence. This decision was subsequently condemned by some observers as disregarding the applicable law, as FGM resulted in death and thus the criminal court should have had jurisdiction and the sentence should have been forced labour for life.
In April 2004, the Kolda Regional Court sentenced a perpetrator of FGM to three months’ imprisonment and the parent to a six-month suspended prison sentence.
In February 2004, the Kolda regional court sentenced a perpetrator of FGM and the parent to six-month suspended prison sentences.
Additionally, in 2009 a grandmother who arranged for FGM on her 16-month old granddaughter, and the excisor who performed the FGM, were sentenced to six months in prison in Matam (although they were released after three months). The parents of the child were also sentenced to three months, but were subsequently pardoned. The case caused a lot of debate among traditional and religious leaders, who defended the right to continue the practice. While the case succeeded in bringing the law into the public arena through widespread media coverage, it did not appear to encourage further prosecutions and law-enforcement efforts.

There are no reported cases of medical practitioners being prosecuted for performing FGM in Senegal.

FGM AND RELIGION

The minority groups that practice Type II or Type III believe that the Quran requires this. Some Muslim leaders are beginning to preach that Islam does not require women to undergo either of these procedures.

SOURCES

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