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Norwegians shocked by genital mutilations
 The Department of Justice has called the Public Prosecutor, the Director of Police and the Oslo Police to an urgent meeting at short notice this week to discuss the ongoing practice of sexual mutilation of girls with immigrant background.
The meeting has been called after public broadcaster NRK TVNews aired shocking reports this weekend, showing that a large number of Norwegian-Somali girls have been sexually mutilated in their parents' homeland over the past three years.
In Norway, sexual mutilation of children has been a crime since January 1996, also if the operation is performed abroad. However, so far no one has been sentenced for such a crime. | Which means a whole lot of people have been actively looking the other way. |
| Funny how thousands of Norgie pediatricians and gynecologists haven't seen a single case in ten years ... |
The aim of the urgent meeting this week is to find out if the police could be able to to do more in order to prevent parents from from sending their children abroad to be sexually mutilated, and prosecute those who do.
Opposition MPs have demanded that health personnel who discover cases where sexual mutilation has been carried out, will have an obligation to submit reports.
| But they haven't seen any, aren't you paying attention? |
Family Minister Karita Bekkemellem says the Government will soon submit a plan of action on how to prevent the practice.
| Boy howdy there you go, a plan of action! Must have been talking to someone over at the World Health Organization. |
School vacation has just started in Norway, and the authorities fear that some parents have already planned to have their daughters sexually mutilated while on vacation in their homeland.
| "Hokay, sweetie, here's your ticket, Uncle Mahmoud will meet you at the gate in Karachi!" |
The police is helpless in the fight against sexual mutilation of children, unless health personnel report cases discovered, says Chief Inspector Finn Abrahamsen of the Oslo Police. Abrahamsen asks school nurses to be more on the offensive, and report to the police when they become concerned.
| None of the nurses have seen a case of FGM in ten years either. Nope, not a one, nope, nope ... |
A health official said in an interview with NRK Monday that it might be best for the child to NOT report such encroachments. She said it would be very difficult for the child to see parents punished.
| The 'health official' who said that should be drummed out of the profession. |
Abrahamsen says that with such attitudes the fight against sexual mutilation becomes very difficult.
| Bad enough the parents of these kids think it's okay; when the health officials roll over as well it's as good as over. |
Posted by: lotp 2007-06-27 |
