“Ending all forms of gender-based violence, including female genital mutilations (FGM), is at the heart of EU equality policies”, the European Commission said in a statement ahead of the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, which is celebrated on 6 February. “Since the start of this Commission’s mandate, we stepped up our actions in Europe and globally with the EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy 2020-2024, the EU Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025 and the EU Gender Action Plan”. Also, “we presented a comprehensive Strategy on the Rights of the Child, which also sought to put an end to violence against children, including FGM. This year, we will present a legislative proposal to prevent and combat violence against women and domestic violence, as well as a recommendation on the prevention of harmful practices”. In essence: “we cannot tolerate violence against women and girls”.