Through immigration, genital mutilation has also spread to America, Australia and Europe. It is estimated that in Europe alone there are at least 500,000 victims, and in Germany there are about 30,000 affected or at risk. Various EU states have responded differently to this challenge. For example, since 2004 German family courts have in individual cases forbidden families from bringing their daughters to their countries of origin, as they would be in realistic danger of genital mutilation there. In 2013, genital mutilation was established as a criminal offense in Germany. However, the risk of punishment for perpetrators is low, since the cutting is carried out in secret and there are no obvious scars. Precautionary check-ups that could bring instances of mutilation to light are not required, nor is there mandatory reporting for medical professionals.

Unlike Germany, in France, medical personnel are required to report FGM as a form of child abuse to authorities. Since 1991 it is considered a criminal act to mutilate a girl and in 1994 there was a case when 18-year-old Mariatou Koita discovered the mutilation of the younger sister. She filed for an investigation and both her mother and the perpetrator were sentenced in criminal court. This case brought FGM to the attention of many people as previously, it was more or less regarded as a “cultural peculiarity.”