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CRIMES (FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION) AMENDMENT
BILL 1994
NEW SOUTH WALES
EXPLANATORY NOTE
(This Explanatory Note relates to this Bill as introduced into Parliament)
Procedures involving the incision, and usually removal, of part or all of the external
genitalia of young females are practised by some groups as a matter of custom or ritual.
The practice can lead to infection, haemorrhaging, dysuria (painful urination) and
dysmenorrhoea (painful menstruation) due to pelvic congestion and complications
during labour.
The object of this Bill is to amend the Crimes Act 1900 to make it an offence
punishable by a maximum of 7 years imprisonment to mutilate external female genitalia
or to aid, abet, counsel or procure such mutilation. An offence under the proposed
section will be punishable even if committed outside of New South Wales if the
mutilated person is ordinarily resident in New South Wales.
It will not be an offence for a doctor to perform a surgical operation that is necessary
for the health of a person, for a doctor or midwife to perform a surgical operation on a
person who is in any stage of labour or has just given birth or for a doctor to carry out a
sexual reassignment procedure on a person.
Clause 1 specifies the short title of the proposed Act.
Clause 2 provides for the commencement of the proposed Act on a proclaimed day.
Clause 3 contains the amendment to the Crimes Act 1900 described above.