Experts differ as unnamed parents appeal FGM convictions

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

The unnamed parents of a girl found guilty of carrying out an act of female genital mutilation (FGM) on her were appealing their convictions at the Court of Appeal. The proceedings were reported on 7 October 2021.

The parents were found guilty after a trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court in November 2019. The offence took place at a Dublin address on 16 September 2016, when their daughter was one year old. They claimed she had injured herself while playing with a toy at home.

At the appeal hearing, Prof Birgitta Essen said a video showed no signs of scarring after the girl was treated for bleeding. She said she would have expected scars if FGM had been performed and considered that the girl had not undergone it because her clitoris was still visible.

Prof Sri Paran, the surgeon who treated the girl, disputed her interpretation. He said he had cauterised the wound, obscuring the scars, but that scar tissue remained beneath the surface. He conceded that he had no prior experience of FGM, while saying he was confident the girl had not injured herself in a fall.

The father's counsel, Hugh Hartnett SC, argued that translation problems made the trial unsafe and unfair. He submitted that the prosecution had conceded there were difficulties and shortcomings in the translation of testimony. He gave an example in which, he said, a question asking the father whether he would hurt his daughter was translated as asking whether he hated her. Giollaiosa O Lideadha SC, for the mother, agreed with his submission. The hearing was continuing.