France wants to strengthen the protection of exiled victims of sexual mutilation -

Lionel Urman / Sipa USA / SIPA

France, already the first country of asylum for women victims of sexual mutilation, wants to strengthen the protection of exiles affected by this "scourge", the government said on Friday, the day before the international day of "zero tolerance" towards female genital mutilation.

"All women, especially migrant or exiled women, must be better protected by the Republic, especially in the face of this unacceptable violence," said Minister Delegate for Citizenship, Marlène Schiappa, during a conference call with some journalists, recalling that excision is a "scourge" which affects in France between 60,000 and 125,000 women, according to studies.

Nearly 11,000 refugees for sexual mutilation in France

Currently, nearly 11,000 girls and women, mainly from Guinea, Mali and Côte d'Ivoire, benefit from refugee status for these reasons.

"We must be proud that France is today the first country of asylum for victims of excision", underlined Marlène Schiappa.

She announced the launch during the year of an online platform designed by the Women for Women France association, in order to allow women "who are not all French-speaking to better understand their rights".

Fewer asylum applications in 2020

Twenty years after granting asylum for the first time in 2001 to parents who opposed the excision of their daughter in Mali, the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (Ofpra) has " a very comprehensive case-law and legislative framework to take into account this specific problem ”, with the possibility for example of requiring medical examinations, explained the Director General of Ofpra, Julien Boucher, during the telephone interview.

Last year, Ofpra granted refugee status to approximately 1,350 girls and women on these grounds.

A figure down slightly compared to previous years, 2020 having been marked by a "significant general decline in asylum requests" against the backdrop of a pandemic, continues Julien Boucher.

"There are also early and forced marriages, conjugal or sexual violence"

In recent years, "it is a problem that has grown in importance," he adds, going from a few hundred cases to around 1,500 protections per year.

Of the 95,000 asylum applications filed in 2020, "societal issues have taken on increasing importance, alongside the traditional figure of the political refugee", according to the head of Ofpra.

“In particular, violence against women occupies an important place, of which female genital mutilation is an illustration, but there are also early and forced marriages, conjugal or sexual violence.

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Bordeaux

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