Parents Arrested in Elche for Subjecting Three-Year-Old Daughter to Genital Mutilation

The National Police have arrested in Elche the parents of a three-year-old girl for subjecting her to genital mutilation. The incident was discovered following a routine medical examination of the child. Healthcare professionals at an Elche medical centre found evidence of a surgical procedure in the genital area that had caused irreversible injuries to the girl.

According to the security forces, the case was specifically brought to the attention of the Court of Instruction and the Juvenile Prosecutor's Office following this medical examination report. During the inspection of the girl, who was then three years old, physical signs that had already healed were observed, which could correspond to this practice still used in various African countries known as female genital mutilation.

The child had arrived in Spain in May 2024, legally residing with her parents. In this context, the examination took place as part of routine medical procedures, without any suspicion from the educational or healthcare environment.

As a result, the National Police conducted interviews with the parents, during which the father admitted that the procedure on the girl was carried out as part of a "cultural belief," without providing further specific details about the time or place of its occurrence. However, evidence, according to police sources, suggests that the practice was performed outside of Spain.

The investigation allowed officers to identify the perpetrators, locating them in Elche, where they were arrested for the alleged crime of serious injury. Both, a 38-year-old man and a 26-year-old woman, are under investigation and have been brought before the Elche Magistrate's Court.

Since then, the National Police have issued a statement reminding that "any action that violates the physical or moral integrity of minors constitutes a serious violation of Spanish law, regardless of the cultural or personal context of its perpetrators."

In this regard, they indicate that respect for cultural and religious traditions "must always be subordinate to the fulfilment of Human Rights, as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of 1948," and affirm that states "have the obligation to act to ensure the welfare, safety, and dignity of all minors, without exception."