This activity consists in developing a comparative assessment of FGM-related legislation in member states of the African Union in the enactment and implementation of specific legislative measures on FGM. The comparison will analyze various elements of national legislative measures enacted or proposed, including but not limited to the following:
a) Remedies;
b) Administrative Measures;
c) Institutional Measures and Support;
d) Education and Awareness Campaigns;
e) Service Provision, Legal Services;
f) Economic and Social Services;
g) State Reporting Measures;
h) Budget Allocation.
The comparative analysis is not limited to the retributive elements of criminal law, but rather will assess the impact of legislation as a preventive and protective instrument and as a tool for behavioural change, in the context of the rights of women in Africa. The study would analyse systematically also unintended or undesirable consequences of legislation, such as clandestine or cross-border practices.
The baselines for assessment will be the recommendations contained in the Cairo Declaration, adopted at the NPWJ Cairo FGM Conference organised by No Peace Without Justice in June 2003, as well as the obligations contained in the African Union Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa, whether or not the relevant country has ratified it.
The Global Study will also include at least three detailed case studies, where possible deriving directly from experiences related to the capacity building and secondment program. Additional information would be garnered from Djibouti (as one of the first countries committed to revising the law following their ratification of the Maputo Protocol); and Mali (as one of the countries still lacking legislation and which is at present committed to prohibiting the practice); and at least two from the following countries: Sierra Leone (as one of the most sensitive countries); Senegal (as one of the most advanced countries in the process of abandoning FGM); and Ethiopia (as a country that is now committed to revising the law).
The Global Study is intended to cement the results of other FGM Program activities by providing an overview of the current situation on FGM legislation as well as a tool for other countries who may wish to pursue legislative options but lack the technical capacity to do so. It is also intended to contribute to the multiplier effects of NPWJ FGM activities by producing a tool that is capable of easy dissemination throughout all countries affected by FGM.
