Implementation of the International and Regional Human Rights Framework for the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation

Before the 1990s, the international community did not view violence against women in general and more specifically Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) as a major issue. If violence against women was recognized as an issue at all, it was seen as under the purview of national governments, not a subject of international law. Violence against women was widely viewed as a private act or a domestic matter carried out by private individuals. For this reason FGM was initially placed beyond the scope of international human rights law.