{
  "id": "RS21923",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RS21923",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 302701,
      "date": "2004-08-27",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-07T20:09:51.816813",
      "title": "Female Genital Mutilation (FGM): Background Information and Issues for Congress",
      "summary": "Congress has acted to help prevent female genital mutilation (FGM) in several ways. Broadly,\nit has\npassed legislation that targets women and aims to improve health conditions around the globe. \nSpecifically, Congress has passed language protecting victims of FGM and criminalizing the practice\nin the United States in the  FY1997 Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations,   P.L. 104-208 . \nIt has also\npassed the  Foreign Affairs Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations\nAct, 2001 ,  P.L. 106-429 , which contains language requiring the U.S. Department of State to\ncompile\nstatistics on FGM.\n FGM is a term that refers to the removal or alteration of the female genitalia. It is estimated\nthat 2 million girls in the Middle East and Africa are subjected to the procedure per year. The\npractice occurs most often in Yemen, Egypt, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iraq,\nJordan, Syria, Southern Algeria, and 28 African countries. In addition, it has been reported that\ncertain Muslim populations in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and India practice FGM in varying\nlevels. Although the United States and a number of industrialized countries have banned FGM, they\ncontinue to contend with it among immigrant communities who may use doctors from their home\ncountries to perform the surgery or send their children to home countries to receive the procedure. \nThis report discusses the prevalence of FGM, highlights programs that seek to counter its occurrence\nand describes the debate on FGM-related policies. This report will be updated as needed.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
      "formats": [
        {
          "format": "PDF",
          "encoding": null,
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RS21923",
          "sha1": "0bc3db3ccca7059505f05dfab55cdfc0c03dccd0",
          "filename": "files/20040827_RS21923_0bc3db3ccca7059505f05dfab55cdfc0c03dccd0.pdf",
          "images": null
        },
        {
          "format": "HTML",
          "filename": "files/20040827_RS21923_0bc3db3ccca7059505f05dfab55cdfc0c03dccd0.html"
        }
      ],
      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Appropriations",
    "Domestic Social Policy",
    "Foreign Affairs"
  ]
}