Simon Hunter
THE AUTHORITIES in Catalonia have confiscated the passport of a 17-month-old girl in a bid to prevent her parents from subjecting her to female genital mutilation (FGM).
The mother of the child tried to get the procedure performed in Spain and also stated that she would ‘do it herself’ during a visit to a healthcare centre in Barcelona province, police sources told Europa Press on Tuesday.
Healthcare staff activated a prevention protocol that included informing the parents that FGM was a crime in Spain. When the family missed medical visits and meetings with social workers, the police were informed.
A court subsequently ordered the young girl’s passport to be seized given the risk that the family would travel to Sierra Leone, where the mother is originally from, so that the procedure could be carried out.
The National Police stopped the family from flying at the weekend to Morocco, from where they were going to try to reach Sierra Leone.
The case is currently in the hands of the social services. The child’s passport will be held until she is 18 years old, according to Europa Press.
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