Legislation

Throughout this knowledge module, reference to certain provisions or sections of a piece of legislation, part of a legal judgment, or aspect of a practice does not imply that the legislation, judgment, or practice is considered in its entirety to be a good example or a promising practice.

Some of the laws cited herein may contain provisions which authorize the death penalty. In light of the United Nations General Assembly resolutions 62/14963/16865/206, and 67/176 calling for a moratorium on and ultimate abolition of capital punishment, the death penalty should not be included in sentencing provisions for crimes of violence against women and girls.

Other Provisions Related to Domestic Violence LawsResources for Developing Legislation on Domestic Violence
Sexual Harassment in Sport Tools for Drafting Sexual Harassment Laws and Policies
Immigration Provisions Resources for developing legislation on sex trafficking of women and girls
Child Protection Provisions Resources on Forced and Child Marriage
Other provisions related to dowry-related and domestic violence laws
Related Tools

Resources for drafting legislation on Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting

Last edited: October 29, 2010

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AHA Foundation, Female Genital Mutilation Statutes in the United States and United Kingdom.

American Refugee Committee International, 2005. Gender-Based Violence Legal Aid: A Participatory Toolkit, Available in English.

Babalola, Stella, Female Genital Mutilation: Impact of a Female Genital Cutting Elimination Program in Eastern Nigeria. Available in English.

Bloom, Shelah, 2008. Violence Against Women and Girls: A Compendium of Monitoring and Evaluation Indicators. Available in English.

Byamukama, Dora C., Kanabahita 2009. Effectiveness of Legislation Enacted to Address Harmful Practices Against Women in Uganda, Including Maltreatment of Widows and Female Genital Mutilation, Available in English.

CARE Norway, 2005. Final Evaluation of Awash Female Genital Cutting Elimination Project.  Available in English.        

Center for Reproductive Rights, 2000. Female Genital Mutilation: A Matter of Human Rights – An Advocate’s Guide to Action, Available in English.

Ethiopia, Constitution, Article 35  Rights of Women. Available in English.

Ethiopia, Constitution, Article 9  Supremacy of the Constitution. Available in English.

European Network for the Prevention and Eradication of Harmful Traditional Practices. Available in English.

International Centre for Criminal Law Reform and Criminal Justice Policy, March 1999. Model Strategies and Practical Measures on the Elimination of Violence Against Women in the Field of Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, Available in English.

IRIN In-Depth Web Special, March 2005. Razor’s Edge – The Controversy of Female Genital MutilationAvailable in English.

National Advisory Council on VAW and the Violence Against Women Office. Toolkit to End Violence Against Women, Available in English.

Nwankwo, Oby, 2008. Effectiveness of Legislation Enacted to Address Violence Against Women in Nigeria, Available in English.

OCHCR, UNAIDS, UNDP, UNECA, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNIFEM, WHO, 2008. Eliminating Female Genital Mutilation: An Interagency Statement, published by WHO. Available in English.

Leslye Orloff and Rachel Little, “Improving Accessibility of Your Program’s Services to Immigrant Women,” Revolution Volume 4, 2011, p. 5. Available in English

Owen, Hilary and Jacki Pritchard, 1993. Good practice in child protection: a manual for professionals.

Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants, Strategies to End Double Violence Against Undocumented Women: Protecting Rights and Ensuring Justice (2012). Available in English, French, and Spanish.

Population Reference Bureau, 2010, Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: Data and Trends, Available in English.

Rahman, Anika. 2000. Female genital mutilation: a guide to laws and policies worldwide.

Renzetti, Claire M.; Edleson, Jeffrey L., 2001. Sourcebook on violence against women.

Reproductive Health Response in Conflict, 2003. Gender-Based Violence Tools Manual, Available in English.

Translating CEDAW into Law: CEDAW Legislative Compliance in Nine Pacific Island Countries; Available in English.

U.S. Department of State, Prevalence of the Practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), 2001. Available in English.

UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, UN Division for the Advancement of Women, 2009. Handbook for Legislation on Violence Against Women, Available in English.

  • A PowerPoint presentation on this United Nations model framework is available here.
  • A video dialogue between two experts discussing the model framework is available here.

UNFPA, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNIFEM, WHO, FIGO, ICN, IOM, MWIA, WCPT, WMA, 2010. Global strategy to stop health-care providers from performing genital mutilation, published by WHO. Available in English.

UNICEF, Innocenti Digest, Changing a Harmful Social Convention: Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting, 2005. Available in English.

UNICEF, Innocenti Research Centre, The Dynamics of Social Change: Towards the Abandonment of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting in Five African Countries, 2010. Available in English.

UNICEF, Legislative Reform to Support the Abandonment of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting, 2010. Available in English.

United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). 2008. Global Consultation on female genital mutilation: Technical Report. Available in English.

UNFPA-UNICEF, 2011, Joint Programme for the Acceleration of the Abandonment of FGM/C: Key Results and Highlights 2011. Available in English.

UNFPA and UNICEF, 2012, Accelerating Change: 2011 Annual Report - UNFPA/UNICEF Joint Programme on Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting. Available in English.

USAID, 2006. Toolkit: Responding to Gender-based Violence: A Focus on Policy Change, Available in English.

Welch, Claude Emerson, 1995. Protecting human rights in Africa: roles and strategies of non-governmental organizations.

Zero Tolerance, Handle with Care: A guide to responsible media reporting of violence against women (2011). Available in English