Portugal’s first FGM conviction to be appealed?

A statement in regard to Portugal’s first FGM conviction and requesting support for an appeal was issued 8 February 2021 by End FGM European Network and APF Portugal.

A court in Sintra, Portugal, 8 January 2021, found a woman guilty of practicing or allowing the practice of FGM on her one and a half years old daughter, during a trip to Guinea Bissau in 2019. This is the first FGM conviction in Portugal. The 21 years old mother was sentenced to three years imprisonment. Her lawyer is appealing the decision and wants the penalty reduced.

The Statement

“A 3-year prison verdict is a disproportionate sentence, especially in the case of a 19 years old mother – herself a survivor of this practice” declared Sonia Duarte Lopes, Board Member of End FGM EU and Lisbon Branch Coordinator for the Associação para o Planeamento da Família (APF). “As a young mother, she was not prepared to resist against a family tradition and an established cultural context, where secrecy surrounds this practice. When convicting, courts should consider the context of extreme vulnerability that women in these situations have to deal every day.”

Many agree that the Judges wanted to send a zero-tolerance signal with an exemplary first conviction which would have a dissuasive effect on other cases in the future. However, while the effective implementation of laws is an important part of ending FGM, it is not enough. Prosecution doesn’t equal protection for girls and women subjected to cutting. A conviction means a case in which FGM hasn’t been prevented. These harsh convictions, disregarding the context behind the practice, may in fact act as a deterrent for survivors and women and girls at risk of FGM to come forward, making them fear the prosecution of their family and community.

“Indeed, ending FGM cannot only be about prosecution but also, and most importantly, about prevention and protection” declared Anna Widegren, End FGM EU Director. “This means first and foremost closely working with communities and creating the conditions for them to speak out against embedded social norms, which make practicing FGM not an individual choice but a collective community pressure. Secondly, prevention must be done through training key professionals to be able to speak to communities about the real risks of FGM.”

The Council of Europe’s Convention on preventing and combating violence against women, also known as the Istanbul Convention, provides a useful framework for tackling FGM which is based on prevention, protection, prosecution and integrated policies. Building on this framework, and with the best interests of children in mind, End FGM EU campaigns for increased efforts to ‘prevent and protect’ those under threat of undergoing FGM by empowering FGM-affected communities to abandon the practice and training relevant professionals to be better sensitized in dealing with and handling potential cases of FGM.

Update September 2021

The Lisbon Court of Appeal suspended the young mother’s three year sentence, agreeing her imprisonment reflected “a new punishment” for the child. A translated account can be accessed here.