Quebec rights body opens investigation after young girl’s clitoris allegedly removed

MONTREAL — Quebec’s human rights commission is investigating reports that the province’s youth protection services failed to act on a suspected case of child genital mutilation.

The commission says in a news release today that it opened the probe on its own initiative after learning in the media about the case involving a two-year-old girl.

La Tribune reported Wednesday that a daycare worker in the Quebec City region discovered while changing a girl’s diaper that her clitoris had been removed — a practice that since 1997 has been recognized in Canada’s Criminal Code as a form of aggravated assault.

The worker alerted Quebec’s youth protection services, which reportedly replied that the case was too delicate for the agency to handle.