Spotlighting Female Genital Mutilation: An Insidious International Human Rights Crisis
Posted: 6 October, 2025 Filed under: Amanda Janell DeAmor Quest | Tags: 200 million girls, Africa, Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women, Convention on the Rights of the Child, female genital mutilation, fgm, global public health concern, human rights violation, initiation ritual for women and girls, international human rights law, nation-wide outrage, no benefits, physical force, prerequisite for marriage Leave a comment
Author: Amanda Janell DeAmor Quest
Commonwealth Caribbean Lawyer
On August 11, 2025, the BBC reported the death of a one-month-old baby girl who had been subjected to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in the Gambia—a country that is one of 10 countries with the highest rates of FGM despite the practice having been outlawed there since 2015. This incident incited nation-wide outrage against FGM and decidedly affirmed its status as one of the most egregious manifestations of gender-based violence in the world today. FGM encompasses “all procedures that involve altering or injuring the female genitalia for non-medical reasons” and is mostly performed on girls between the ages of 5 and 9. For this reason, FGM is “recognised internationally as a violation of the human rights, the health and the integrity of girls and women” Unfortunately, despite its deleterious effects on the lives, health, safety, and well-being of approximately 200 million girls and women worldwide, FGM continues to be reverenced as a “cultural tradition” in adherent societies.
AfricLaw 
Corporal punishment as a public health concern: Breaking the cycle of violence against children in Africa
Posted: 25 September, 2025 | Author: AfricLaw | Filed under: Nqobani Nyathi | Tags: 1.2 billion children, Africa, African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, Children with disabilities, corporal punishment of children, dropout rates, General Comment 9, global public health concern, Guidelines on Ending Violence Against Children in Africa, no benefits, physical force, public health crisis, religion, religious traditions, tradition, violence, World Health Organisation (WHO) | 1 CommentDoctoral Candidate, Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria
On 20 August 2025, the World Health Organisation (WHO) launched a report declaring corporal punishment of children a global public health concern. By definition, corporal punishment is any punishment where physical force is used with the intention of causing some degree of discomfort or pain, however light.
The statistics are staggering. An estimated 1.2 billion children around the world are subjected to corporal punishment at home every year. Children exposed to such violence are more likely to suffer from anxiety, depression, low self-esteem and emotional instability. These effects often persist into adulthood, increasing the risk of alcohol and drug use, and violent behaviour. In schools, corporal punishment contributes to dropout rates and poor educational outcomes.
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