So it is with great feeling and with a sense of responsibility for the most vulnerable that I approach the second reading of the Crimes (Definition of Female Genital Mutilation) Amendment Bill. Its purpose is to update the definition of female genital mutilation (FGM) in the New Zealand Crimes Act 1961 to close any loopholes and to reflect the will of the girls, women, and wider communities affected by this harmful practice. It's certainly sobering to think that in a country which was the first in the world to give women the vote that we need to have such a law. However, no matter how rare the practice of female genital mutilation may be in New Zealand, it is our duty to make it very clear from the highest levels of Government that this practice, a practice which is inflicted on those who often have no understanding or choice in it, is completely unacceptable—in fact, utterly rejected—in New Zealand.