Editing Sex and the law (section)

== Female genital mutilation ==
{{main|Female genital mutilation laws by country}}
{{See also|Circumcision and law|Intersex medical interventions}}
Custom and tradition are the most frequently cited reasons for female genital mutilation (FGM). FGM is the removal of the genitals, especially in Islamic culture perpetuating male domination. Approximately 125 million girls and women are victims of female genital mutilation throughout the world.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Global Issues: Politics, Economics, and Culture|last=Payne|first=Richard|publisher=Pearson Education|year=2017|isbn=978-0-13-420205-1|pages=164}}</ref> With the practices often being performed to exert control over the sexual behavior of girls and women or as a perceived [[Aesthetics|aesthetic]] improvement to the appearance of their [[Sex organ|genitalia]].<ref name="Koroma">{{cite web|last=Koroma|first=Hannah|title=What is Female Genital Mutilation?|date=30 September 1997|publisher=[[Amnesty International]]|access-date=5 February 2013|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/act77/006/1997/en/}}</ref><ref name="WHO, FGM">{{cite web |title=Female genital mutilation |publisher=[[World Health Organization]] |access-date=22 August 2012 |url=https://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs241/en/index.html}}</ref><ref name="Momoh">{{cite book |last=Momoh|first=Comfort |author-link=Comfort Momoh |chapter=1: Female Genital Mutilation|title=Female Genital Mutilation |editor-last=Momoh |editor-first=Comfort |publisher=Radcliffe Publishing |year=2005 |pages=5–11|access-date= 17 November 2012|isbn=978-1-85775-693-7|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dVjIP0RfVAMC&pg=PA5}}</ref> The [[World Health Organization]] (WHO) is one of many health organizations that have campaigned against the procedures on behalf of [[human rights]], stating that "FGM has no health benefits" and that it is "a violation of the human rights of girls and women" and "reflects deep-rooted inequality between the sexes".<ref name="WHO, FGM"/>

Most countries prohibit female genital mutilation,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/population/fgm/fgm.htm|title=Laws of the world on female genital mutilation|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111129032826/https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/population/fgm/fgm.htm/|archive-date=29 November 2011|website=Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health}}</ref> including prohibiting the procedure to be performed on its citizens and residents while outside their jurisdictions,<ref name=McVeigh>McVeigh, Tracy and Sutton, Tara. [https://www.theguardian.com/society/2010/jul/25/female-circumcision-children-british-law "British girls undergo horror of genital mutilation despite tough laws"], ''[[The Guardian]]'', 25 July 2010.</ref> and the [[New York State Penal Law]] lists female genital mutilation as a sexual offense.