# Plain Language Summary: Empower our Girls Act

This bill makes female genital mutilation (FGM) eligible for federal funding and support programs that currently help victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and other crimes. Right now, several federal grant programs provide money to organizations that help victims of violence—things like shelters, legal services, counseling, and transitional housing. This bill adds FGM to the list of crimes these programs can address, meaning organizations can now use federal money to help FGM survivors get medical care, counseling, legal assistance, and safe housing.

The bill also requires the FBI to officially track FGM as a crime in its national crime statistics. Currently, FGM incidents aren't recorded as a separate category in the Uniform Crime Reports, which means there's no clear national picture of how often this crime occurs. By classifying it as an official crime category, the bill makes it easier for law enforcement to report these cases and for researchers and policymakers to understand the scope of the problem.

In practical terms, this means that if a girl or woman in the United States is a victim of FGM, she becomes eligible for the same federal support services available to other crime victims. Organizations like shelters and legal aid groups can now use federal grants to provide services specifically for FGM survivors. The bill doesn't create new laws making FGM illegal—that's already against the law in all 50 states and under federal law—but it ensures that survivors have access to the same help and resources that other crime victims receive.

Empower our Girls Act

Perry, Scott

Empower our Girls Act This bill allows certain grants authorized under the Violence Against Women Act to be used to support victims of female genital mutilation. Such grants already support victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking. The bill also requires the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to classify female genital mutilation as a Part II crime (i.e., a less serious offense) in the Uniform Crime Reports. (The FBI compiles and periodically publishes crime statistics through the Uniform Crime Reporting Program. Currently, the FBI does not compile and publish information about female genital mutilation.)