Young women from the U.S. are at increasing risk of a dangerous ritual known as female genital mutilation. Federal law enforcement has launched an awareness campaign about “vacation cutting.”

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Federal law enforcement has launched an awareness campaign to try to stop what’s known as vacation cutting. That’s when girls are sent abroad for female genital mutilation, a dangerous ritual long-practiced in certain parts of Africa and Asia. Increasingly, young women from the United States are also at risk. A warning now – this story contains graphic references. Matt Katz of member station WNYC reports.

MATT KATZ, BYLINE: Investigators from Immigration and Customs Enforcement at John F. Kennedy International Airport got an unusual tip last year that a girl was traveling unaccompanied to a country that practices female genital mutilation, known as FGM. Special Agent Michelle Panella with ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations took the case.

Read more here: https://www.npr.org/2017/12/09/569600959/how-women-from-the-u-s-could-be-at-risk-of-genital-mutilation