COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
OFFICE OF COUNCILMEMBER BROOKE PINTO
THE JOHN A. WILSON BUILDING
1350 PENNSLYVANIA AVENUE, N.W., SUITE 106
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20004
April 13, 2023
Nyasha Smith, Secretary
Council of the District of Columbia
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20004
Dear Secretary Smith,
Today, I, along with Councilmembers Brianne Nadeau, Charles Allen, Matthew Frumin,
Vincent C. Gray, and Christina Henderson, am re-introducing the “Female Genital Mutilation
Prohibition Act of 2023.” Please find attached a signed copy of the legislation.
Female genital mutilation or cutting (“FGM/C”) is a practice with no valid medical purpose
that causes extensive, lifelong harm to the physical and mental wellbeing of young women. More
than 200 million girls and women alive today have been subjected to this practice,
1
and many more
are at risk. In some instances, women are taken across state lines or abroad by a parent, guardian,
or other caregiver to places where FGM/C may legally be performed. The World Health
Organization estimates that, each year, more than 3 million girls are at risk of being subjected to
female genital mutilation or cutting.
2
Tragically, this practice occurs across the United States, including in the District. The CDC
estimates that as many as 500,000 girls and women in the United States have undergone FGM/C
in the past or are at risk
3
—a number that has tripled over the last two decades.
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The CDC estimate
includes more than 51,000 women in the Washington metro area, the second highest rate in the
country after the New York metro area.
5
Laws prohibiting FGM/C help ensure that no woman is subjected to female genital
mutilation, whether in their home country or abroad. To date, more than half of states have passed
1
World Health Organization. Female genital mutilation: Evidence brief. 11 November 2019, WHO/RHR/19.19
(available at: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-RHR-19.19).
2
Id.
3
Goldberg, Howard, Paul Stupp, Ekwutosi Okoroh, Ghenet Besera, David Goodman, and Isabella Danel, Female
Genital Mutilation/Cutting in the United States: Updated Estimates of Women and Girls at Risk. Public Health Rep.
March-Apr 2016, 131(2):340-7.
4
United States Government Accountability Office. Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: Existing Federal Efforts to
Increase Awareness Should Be Improved. June 2016, GAO-16-645 (available at: https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-
16-645.pdf).
5
Mather, Mark, and Charlotte Feldman-Jacobs, Population Reference Bureau. Women and Girls at Risk of Female
Genital Mutlation/Cutting in the United States. 5 February 2016 (available at:
https://www.prb.org/resources/women-and-girls-at-risk-of-female-genital-mutilation-cutting-in-the-united-states/). laws specifically prohibiting FGM/C, with many explicitly prohibiting the removal of a person
from the state for this purpose.
6
Unfortunately, the District is one of only ten states that have not
adopted any specific law regulating or prohibiting this practice. What’s more, since all of the
District’s neighboring jurisdictions have passed laws explicitly banning FGM/C, women and girls
may be brought to the District for this practice.
This legislation would broadly prohibit the practice of female genital mutilation and cutting
in the District, including prohibiting a parent, guardian, or conservator from removing a person
under their care from the District for the purpose of facilitating FGM/C abroad. The bill also
establishes a cause of action for violation of the Act, expands existing mandating reporter
requirements to include suspicion that a person is at imminent risk of being subjected to FGM/C,
and requires that DC Health develop educational training and materials for community members
and mandated reporters on the harms associated with female genital mutilation and cutting and
how to recognize the signs that a person might be at risk.
This legislation will bring the District in line with a number of other jurisdictions, including
both Maryland and Virginia, that have acted to prohibit FGM/C. Importantly, it will set in place a
number of safeguards that, taken together, will help ensure that the more than 51,000 girls and
women in the District at risk of FGM/C are protected from this harmful practice.
Should you have any questions about this legislation, please contact my Committee
Director, Michael Porcello, at mporcello@dccouncil.gov or (202) 724-7808.
Thank you.
Best,
Ward 2 Councilmember Brooke Pinto
6
Equality Now. US Laws Against FGM – State by State. (available at:
https://www.equalitynow.org/us_laws_against_fgm_state_by_state/). 1
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______________________________ ______________________________ 2
Councilmember Brianne Nadeau Councilmember Brooke Pinto 3
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______________________________ ______________________________ 6
Councilmember Charles Allen Councilmember Matthew Frumin 7
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______________________________ ______________________________ 10
Councilmember Vincent C. Gray Councilmember Christina Henderson 11
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A BILL 14
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_________ 16
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IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 19
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To prohibit female genital mutilation of a person under care, to expand mandated reporter 24
reporting requirements to include female genital mutilation, and to provide for a civil 25
action for female genital mutilation. 26
27
BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 28
act may be cited as the “Female Genital Mutilation Prohibition Act of 2023”. 29
TITLE I. PROHIBITION ON FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION . 30
Sec. 101. Definitions. 31
For the purposes of this title, the term: 32
(1) “Conservator” shall have the same meaning as provided in D.C. Official Code 33
§ 21-2401.02(2). 34
(2) “Female genital mutilation” means any procedure that results in the partial or 35
total removal of the external female genitalia or any procedure harmful to the female genitalia, 36
including: 37 2
(A) A clitoridectomy; 38
(B) The partial or total removal of the clitoris or the prepuce; 39
(C) The excision or the partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia 40
minora, with or without excision of the labia majora; 41
(D) The infibulation or narrowing of the vaginal orifice with the creation 42
of a covering seal by cutting and appositioning the labia minora or the labia majora, with or 43
without excision of the clitoris; 44
(E) Pricking, piercing, incising, scraping, or cauterizing the genital area; or 45
(F) Any other action to purposely alter the structure or function of the 46
female genitalia for a nonmedical reason. 47
(3) “Guardian” shall have the same meaning as provided in D.C. Official Code § 48
21-2401.02(3). 49
(4) “Person under care” means an individual under a conservatorship or 50
guardianship. 51
Sec. 102. Prohibition on female genital mutilation. 52
(a) A person commits the offense of unlawful female genital mutilation if her or she: 53
(1) Knowingly performs female genital mutilation on a person under care; 54
(2) Is a parent or guardian, or has immediate custody or control of a person under 55
care and knowingly consents to, permits, or otherwise facilitates female genital mutilation of the 56
person under care; or 57
(3) Knowingly removes or facilitates the removal of a person under care from the 58
District for the purpose of facilitating the female genital mutilation of the person under care. 59 3
(b) Any person who violates this section shall be guilty of a felony and shall be punished 60
by imprisonment for not more than 10 years or a fine of not more than the amount set forth in § 61
22-3571.01, or both. 62
(c) It is not a defense under this section that: 63
(1) The unlawful conduct is required as a matter of religion, custom, ritual, or 64
other standard practice; or 65
(2) The person under care’s parent, guardian, or custodian consented to the female 66
genital mutilation. 67
(d) It shall not be a violation of this section if the acts or conduct that otherwise would be 68
considered female genital mutilation occurred in the furtherance of a surgical or other lawful 69
medical procedure, performed by a licensed medical professional, and: 70
(1) The acts or conduct were necessary to preserve or protect the physical health 71
of the patient upon whom the medical procedure was being performed; or 72
(2) Was part of a sex reassignment procedure requested by the person under care 73
on whom the surgery is to be performed. 74
(e) The statute of limitations for an offense under this section shall not begin to toll until 75
the victim of the offense reaches 18 years of age. 76
Sec. 103. Civil action. 77
(a) A person under care may bring a civil action against a person for a violation of section 78
102. 79
(b)(1) If a court determines that an individual violated section 102, the court may award 80
the payment of actual, compensatory, and punitive damages, and any other appropriate relief. 81
(2) A prevailing plaintiff shall be awarded attorney’s fees and costs. 82 4
Sec. 104. Education for community members and mandated reporters. 83
(a) The Director of the Department of Health shall develop or obtain, and make available 84
to the public, include informational materials on: 85
(1) The health risks caused by female genital mutilation, including the emotional 86
trauma inflicted; 87
(2) Recognizing the signs that an individual may be a victim of female genital 88
mutilation, or at risk of female genital mutilation; and 89
(3) How to report that an individual has been or is in imminent danger of being 90
subjected to female genital mutilation. 91
(b) The Director of the Department of Health, in coordination with other, relevant District 92
agencies, shall develop and make available to the public informational materials, or integrate 93
information into existing publicly-available informational materials, on mandated reporters’ 94
obligation to report that a person under care known to him or her in his or her professional or 95
official capacity has been subjected to, or is in imminent danger of being subjected to, female 96
genital mutilation. 97
TITLE II. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 98
Sec. 201. Section 16-2301(9)(A) of the District of Columbia Official Code is amended as 99
follows: 100
(a) Sub-subparagraph (ix) is amended by striking the phrase “; or” and inserting a 101
semicolon in its place. 102
(b) Sub-subparagraph (x) is amended by striking the period and inserting the phrase “; or” 103
in its place. 104
(c) A new sub-subparagraph (xi) is added to read as follows: 105 5
“(xi) who has been subjected to, or is in imminent danger of being 106
subjected to, female genital mutilation pursuant to Title I of the Female Genital Mutilation 107
Prohibition Act of 2019, as introduced on DATE, 2019 (Bill 23-XXX).”. 108
TITLE III. FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT; EFFECTIVE DATE. 109
Sec. 301. Fiscal impact statement. 110
The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal 111
impact statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, 112
approved October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.47a). 113
Sec. 302. Effective date. 114
This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the 115
Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto), a 30-day period of congressional review as 116
provided in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 117
24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code § 1-206.02(c)(1)), and publication in the District of 118
Columbia Register. 119