A victory for the movement: Colombia adopts Latin America’s first law against FGM/C

Photo credit: Camila Morales / Equality Now

The Americas Alliance to End FGM/C celebrates the Colombian Congress’s approval of Bill 440 of 2025, which establishes a comprehensive framework for the prevention, response, and eradication of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C). Approved by the Senate on June 10, 2026, the legislation marks the first time a country in Latin America has adopted a law specifically addressing FGM/C. 

A collective achievement 

The passage of this legislation is an important achievement for Colombia and for the region. By formally recognizing FGM/C through legislation and creating a comprehensive framework for prevention, protection, response, and eradication, Colombia has taken a significant step toward protecting the rights, health, dignity, and bodily autonomy of women and girls.

This achievement reflects years of work by many actors. Survivors who shared their experiences, women’s rights advocates, Indigenous women leaders, civil society organizations, researchers, healthcare professionals, and lawmakers all played essential roles in bringing visibility to an issue that has too often remained hidden. 

As Leandra Becerra, Legal Advisor for Equality Now in Latin America and the Caribbean, noted, “Colombia has shown that it is possible to address FGM/C through legislation that is grounded in human rights and shaped through dialogue with affected communities. This approach not only strengthens protections for women and girls, but also offers an important example for other countries across the Americas.”

Throughout the legislative process, Equality Now, a founding member of the Americas Alliance to End FGM/C, provided technical assistance to members of Congress and other State actors, drawing on international human rights standards and comparative legal frameworks from around the world. The organization also worked to help ensure that Indigenous women, survivors, and civil society organizations had meaningful opportunities to contribute to discussions shaping the legislation. 

One of the law’s most important contributions is the approach it adopts. The law incorporates an intercultural approach built on dialogue with affected communities. This matters; laws on FGM/C that ignore the communities most affected risk deepening stigma and discrimination instead of addressing the practice itself.

An intercultural approach is especially important because FGM/C should not be framed as affecting only one community or population. Global evidence shows that FGM/C occurs across diverse cultural, religious, and geographic contexts. Addressing the harmful practice effectively requires solutions that protect rights while avoiding stigma and discrimination.

According to Adama Barry, Program Coordinator, Sanctuary for Families, “effective responses to FGM/C require more than legal protections alone. To protect survivors and women and girls at risk, provide culturally responsive services, trusted community-based support, and prevention efforts that reflect the realities of affected communities. Build sustainable change by aligning legal protections, survivor-centered services, and community engagement”.

A win that also reflects the strength of regional advocacy

This achievement also reflects what coordinated advocacy across the Americas can do. In 2025, the Americas Alliance to End FGM/C contributed to the first-ever thematic hearing on FGM/C before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), a landmark moment that positioned the harmful practice as a regional concern rather than an isolated phenomenon. Survivors, Indigenous leaders, and experts from Colombia, the United States, and Canada presented evidence before the Commission.

Four months later, on March 11, 2026, marking International Women’s Day, the IACHR issued a statement calling on States across the Americas to adopt comprehensive measures to end FGM/C, grounded in the Belém do Pará Convention and the American Convention on Human Rights. It called for prevention with an intercultural and gender approach, dialogue with local and community authorities, stronger normative frameworks and public policies, early detection protocols, and sustainable budgets. Three months later, Colombia’s Bill 440 gave concrete expression to many of the measures highlighted by the Commission. 

A model for the Americas 

Colombia’s experience is especially important because it provides the region with a good legislative example. Across North America, more than 700,000 women and girls are estimated to be affected by or at risk of FGM/C in the United States and Canada. Historical evidence has also documented the practice in countries including Panama, Mexico, Peru, and Brazil, although available data remains limited. 

We welcome this achievement and stand in solidarity with all those whose dedication made it possible. We also recognize the importance of ensuring that legal protections translate into meaningful change in the lives of women and girls.

About the Americas Alliance to End FGM/C: The Americas Alliance is a coalition of organizations, researchers, activists, and survivor advocacy groups dedicated to ending female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) across the Americas. Recognizing FGM/C as a severe violation of human rights and a form of gender-based violence (GBV), the Alliance aims to unify efforts to support survivors, enhance prevention strategies, and promote gender equality throughout the region. The member organizations of the Americas Alliance include The U.S. End FGM/C Network, the End FGM Canada Network, George Washington University, Equality Now,  Sahiyo U.S, Global Girls Women Worldwide (GGWW) and Sanctuary for Families.