The Senate unanimously agreed to ask the government to prepare an amendment to the criminal law. The House of Representatives approved a similar proposal last December.
Those found guilty of carrying out or encouraging female circumcision will face up to ten years in prison or will have to pay substantial fines regardless of whether the criminal act was committed in Switzerland or abroad.
Piercings and tattoos will not be considered punishable offences.
During Tuesday’s debate Justice Minister Simonetta Sommaruga said it was crucial to step up prevention and raise awareness of the mutilation issue.
There are an estimated 6,700 women and girls in Switzerland who are victims of genital mutilation according to the United Nations Children’s Fund, Unicef.
In 2008 a Zurich court found a couple from Somalia guilty of causing bodily injury to their daughter in the first case of genital mutilation to come before judges in Switzerland.
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Unicef gets tougher against female mutilation
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The petitioners who filled in an online electronic card are calling on parliament to anchor criminal law provisions in the Swiss penal code against all forms of the practice. Unicef Switzerland’s campaign was launched on February 6, the International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation, an annual United Nations awareness event. The printed…
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The Zurich prosecutor’s office has launched criminal proceedings against two parents originally from Somalia who had their daughter genitally mutilated at their home in the Zurich Oberland when she was two. “You have to give a signal that children growing up in Switzerland have to be protected from mutilation and you have to raise awareness,”…
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To mark the International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation, around 150 people took part in a conference in Geneva on Wednesday looking at ways of putting an end to the practice. Some 130 million women are affected by genital mutilation, mostly in Africa, the Middle East and Indonesia, but also in immigrant…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.