Dear AHA Foundation Supporter,

The AHA Foundation’s Senior Director, Amanda Parker, was interviewed for this piece in the Metro UK saying that “education and outreach is hugely important in ending female genital mutilation (FGM).” That is why we have created a new FGM training resource that you can find on our website here. Amanda will be using this new resource at the upcoming International Summit: Building Peace by Linking Policy, Practice, Research & Advocacy to End Violence in San Diego, where she will be training attendees on handling FGM situations in the U.S.

Earlier this month, the AHA Foundation met with the legislative offices of Representative Dave Trott and Representative Paul Mitchell in Washington D.C. to support the efforts of these Congressmen for sponsoring H.R. 3317: Stopping Abusive Female Exploitation (SAFE) Act. This legislation will increase the federal penalty for FGM from five years to 15 years and will make the U.S. a safer place to be a girl. If you would like to show your support for this legislation, visit our website here and contact your representatives to urge them to co-sponsor and pass this legislation.

Our first feature is an interview with Detective Chris Boughey of the Peoria Police Department. In 2009, he was assigned the honor killing case of Noor Almaleki, which was his first encounter with honor violence. Since then, Detective Boughey dedicated his life to fighting this abuse by raising awareness and training law enforcement and service providers across the country. Read his interview here.

After 44 meetings in six countries around the world to research forced and early marriage, Laura Vidal, a Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellow, is almost ready to present her findings on new, effective ways of preventing forced and child marriage. Read about her incredible experience and determination to stop these dangerous practices here.

The first trial for female genital mutilation in the United States has been postponed this morning as two more defendants are charged in this case. It is estimated that approximately 100 girls were victims. Read here to learn the most up-to-date information regarding the trial.

Thank you,

Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Founder, The AHA Foundation