Consent

Last edited: January 26, 2011

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Legislation should provide that consent of any person of any age or by a minor's parent is not a defense to a violation of legislation against harmful practices. The focus of legislation should be on the empowerment of women to reject harmful practices and enabling a shift in the social norms that support harmful practices and pressure women into undergoing them for themselves or others. The practice of FGM, for example, is so entrenched in social norms and expectations that, without a shift in those underlying norms and individual beliefs, true informed consent to undergo FGM for adult women, completely free from undue pressure, is difficult to ascertain. 

Examples regarding Female Genital Mutilation: