The Federal Bureau of Investigation is currently investigating tips and leads on an illegal practice as shocking as it sounds.
In a report posted by the International Human Rights Unit, the FBI says more than 500,000 girls and women in the United States are at risk of undergoing or have undergone female genital mutilation. The cultural custom has roots in Africa and the Middle East but has also been found to take place in the United States.
FGM –also known as “cutting,” is the partial or total removal of the external genitalia for non-medical reasons. FGM is performed to control sexuality and ensure virginity until marriage, as a rite of passage into adulthood and sometimes as a means to increase eligibility for marriage by some cultures. The FBI says 1/3 of the over 500,000 women in the U.S. at risk of the practice are under the age of eighteen. (continue reading at Fox17)