Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Zero Tolerance for FGM Act of 2015”.
Zero Tolerance for FGM Act of 2015
A BILL
To address the urgent need for a Federal strategy to ensure that individuals who encounter minors at risk of female genital mutilation are fully prepared to take action to prevent the practice, and individuals who have been subjected to female genital mutilation can seek necessary services, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Findings
The Congress finds the following:
Female genital mutilation (in this Act referred to as “FGM”) is a harmful traditional practice carried out on an estimated 125 million girls and women around the world.
If current trends continue, an additional 86 million will face the procedure by 2030, including minors in the United States.
According to an article which appeared in Public Health Reports (1997 JAN–FEB) entitled “Female genital mutilation. Female circumcision. Who is at risk in the U.S.?”, relying on estimates derived by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 1990 over 168,000 girls and women living in the United States had either been, or were at risk of being, subjected to FGM.
FGM is widely recognized as a violation of the rights of girls.
The United Nations, with the support of the United States, adopted a resolution calling for all countries to develop national strategies to end FGM.
The United Nations declared a goal of fully ending FGM within a generation.
The United Nations recognizes International Day for Zero Tolerance of FGM.
It is illegal to carry out FGM against a minor in the United States.
Sec. 3 Sense of Congress
It is the sense of the Congress that—
there is an urgent need for the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with officials at other relevant Federal departments and agencies, to develop and implement a multi-agency strategy to ensure that—
individuals who encounter minors at risk of FGM are fully prepared to take action to prevent the practice; and
individuals who have been subjected to FGM can seek necessary services;
the strategy should provide for updating the estimates of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the prevalence of women and girls with female genital mutilation or female circumcision; and
the strategy should provide for a public awareness campaign, so that the American public understands—
how to help individuals in danger of being subjected to FGM; and
how to address the needs of individuals who have been subjected to it.
Sec. 4 Report
Not later than one year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with officials at relevant Federal departments and agencies, shall submit to the Congress a report on the status of the development and implementation of the strategy described in section 3.