Greece: Woman and children flee FGM to face abuse in Libya

Credits: Vania Turner, producer / Béla Szandelszky, camera  |  18 October 2017

Greece: Woman and children flee FGM to face abuse in Libya

Over 200 million women and girls across the world have been subjected to female genital mutilation, while 20,000 seek asylum from FGM-practicing countries in the EU every year.

Aisha*, not her real name, was seven years old when she underwent the procedure in her native Ivory Coast. Her eldest daughter was four when it happened to her. Last year Aisha fled with her youngest daughter to save her from being excised. But in Libya, she was caught in a nine-month-long nightmare, where she experienced repeated abuse and witnessed the killings of people detained with her. UNHCR calls for unrestricted humanitarian access in Libya to prevent risks of sexual and gender-based violence and to offer psycho-social support to survivors.