Criminal Code > BOOK V 3

CHAPTER III CRIMES COMMITTED AGAINST LIFE, PERSON AND HEALTH THROUGH HARMFUL TRADITIONAL PRACTICES

Article 561- Endangering the Lives of Pregnant Women and Children through Harmful Traditional Practices.

(1) Whoever causes the death of a pregnant or a delivering woman or that of a newly born child as a result of the application of a harmful traditional practice such as:

a) massaging the abdomen of a pregnant woman, or shaking a woman in a prolonged labour; or

b) soiling the umbilical cord of a newly-born child with dung or other similar substances, keeping a newly-born child out of the sun or feeding it butter, excising the uvula of a child or taking out milk teeth or preventing the child from being vaccinated; or

c) through the exercise of other traditional practices known by the medical profession to be harmful,

is punishable with fine or simple imprisonment from three months to one year.

(2) Where the death was caused by negligence, the relevant provision of this Code (Art. 543) shall apply.

Article 562- Causing Bodily injury to Pregnant Women and Children Through Harmful Traditional Practices

(1) Whoever causes bodily injury or mental impairment to a pregnant or delivering woman or to a newly-born child as a result of the application of a harmful traditional practice such as:

a) massaging the abdomen of a pregnant woman, or shaking a woman in prolonged labour; or

c) through the exercise of other traditional practices known by the medical profession to be harmful,

is punishable with fine or simple imprisonment not exceeding six months.

(2) Where the injury to body, mind or health was caused by negligence, the relevant provision of this Code (Art. 559) shall apply.

Article 563- Discretion of the Court.

In respect of the crimes specified under Articles 561 and 562, the Court, taking into account the age, education, experience or social status of the criminal, may give him only a warning instead of fine or a penalty entailing loss of liberty.

Article 564- Violence Against a Marriage Partner or a Person Cohabiting in an Irregular Union.

The relevant provision of this Code (Arts. 555 – 560) shall apply to a person who, by doing violence to a marriage partner or a person cohabiting in an irregular union, causes grave or common injury to his/her physical or mental health.

Article 565- Female Circumcision.

Whoever circumcises a woman of any age,

Is punishable with simple imprisonment for not less than three months, or fine not less than five hundred Birr.

Article 566- Infibulation of the Female Genitalia.

(1) Whoever infibulates the genitalia of a woman,

Is punishable with rigorous imprisonment from three years to five years.

(2) Where injury to body or health has resulted due to the act prescribed in sub-article (1) above, subject to the provision of the Criminal Code which provides for a more severe penalty, the punishment shall be rigorous imprisonment from five years to ten years.

Article 567- Bodily Injuries Caused Through Other Harmful Traditional Practices.

Whoever, apart from the circumstances specified in this Chapter, inflicts upon another bodily injury or mental impairment through a harmful traditional practice known for its inhumanity and ascertained to be harmful by the medical profession,

shall, according to the circumstances of the case, be liable to one of the penalties prescribed under the provisions of Article 561 or Article 562 of this Code.

Article 568- Transmission of Disease Through Harmful Traditional Practices.

Where the victim has contracted a communicable disease as a result of one of the harmful traditional practices specified in the above provisions, the penalties prescribed in this Code concerning the spread of communicable diseases shall apply concurrently.

Article 569- Participation in Harmful Traditional Practices.

A parent or any other person who participates in the commission of one of the crimes specified in this Chapter,

Is punishable with simple imprisonment not exceeding three months, or fine not exceeding five hundred Birr.

Article 570- Incitement Against the Enforcement of Provisions Prohibiting Harmful Traditional Practices.

Any person who publicly or otherwise incites or provokes another to disregard the provisions of this Code prohibiting harmful traditional practices, or organizes a movement to promote such end, or takes part in such a movement, or subscribes to its schemes,

Is punishable with simple imprisonment for not less than three months, or fine not less than five hundred Birr, or both.