Sweden: Girl wins compensation for FGM

Sweden: Girl wins compensation for FGM

The story below is a bit unclear.  From what I understand, the mother was previously sentenced to three years in prison and for damages of 450,000 kroner.  The mother appealed the sentence, and the Victim Compensation and Support Authority now made a final ruling on the matter.  (Source: DN, SE)

Sweden, like other European countries, does not deport people who might face torture or execution in their homelands.  If the Swedish authorities decide to define FGM as 'torture', I suppose girls facing this risk should at least have the same level of protection.


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A 19-year-old girl in Gothenburg has been awarded compensation after having been subjected to genital mutilation in Somalia as an 11-year-old.



The girl was awarded 390,000 kronor ($52,000) in damages for abuse and gross violation of integrity (grov fridskränkning), the Crime Victim Compensation and Support Authority (Brottsoffermyndigheten) has announced.


Then 11-years-old, the girl was taken on holiday to Somalia in 2001. While there she was subjected to genital mutilation.


She was held down by her mother and two other women while her clitoris and inner labia were removed by a man in return for payment.


The girl's vagina was then sewn up down to the opening of her urethra. The whole procedure was conducted without anaesthetic.


For several years after the violation the girl was subjected to repeated examinations by her mother who forced her fingers into her vagina to check that her virginity remained intact.


She also repeatedly assaulted her daughter with various implements including books, a curtain rail and a belt.


The girl's mother later explained in her court trial that the girl was taken to Somalia to be "cleansed".


The mother was later convicted for the violation in the Court of Appeal (Hovrätten) and ordered to pay her daughter 450,000 kronor in compensation.


In its decision to award the damages to the 19-year-old the Crime Victim Compensation and Support Authority wrote that the "genital mutilation resembled torture and was intended to limit her possibilities to have a normal sex life."


(more)


Source: The Local (English)

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