LAS VEGAS, Jan. 4 – Clitoraid, a non-profit, Las Vegas-based humanitarian organization dedicated to helping victims of female genital mutilation (FGM), will occupy booth 323 at the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo, to be held at the Sands Expo and Convention Center Jan. 6-9.

New at Clitoraid’s booth this year are boxed chocolates that will be given to those who donate while supplies last. Tee-shirts will also be available. All donations will go to benefit FGM victims.
In addition, several adult video actresses, including Nina Heartly and Lynn LeMay, have said they will make appearances at the Clitoraid booth.

New at Clitoraid’s booth this year are boxed chocolates. Proceeds from sales of these chocolates will go to benefit FGM victims.

Clitoraid has almost completed construction of the very first “Pleasure Hospital” in Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, where African women who wish to have their clitorises repaired and thus have their sexual pleasure restored will be able to do so at no cost to them!

According to a barbaric tradition, millions of female children in some parts of the world – especially Africa – are forced to undergo an excruciatingly painful procedure in which the clitoris is excised. The act is typically carried out without anesthesia and is often performed by female relatives, themselves earlier victims of the practice. Each year, millions of girls endure this brutal practice so they won’t enjoy sex and will be more likely to remain the “property” of men. Up to 98 percent of all women in some African countries have been genitally mutilated.

Founded by Rael, leader of the worldwide Raelian Movement of some 70,000 members in 104 countries, Clitoraid helps FGM victims benefit from an innovative surgical procedure that restores clitoral functioning and, consequently, the capacity for sexual pleasure. The procedure was developed by Dr. Pierre Foldes of France, who has already performed the surgery successfully for a number of African women sent to him through the assistance of Clitoraid.

Several Western doctors have volunteered their time for the new Pleasure Hospital, including Dr. Marci Bowers, M.D., who specializes in gynecology and pelvic and reconstructive surgery. She has already completed her training with Dr. Foldes in France and has performed several reconstructive surgeries at her former Trinidad (CO) office. She will perform 21 more at her new San Francisco office over the next few months.

At AVN and other events, Clitoraid hopes to reach thousands of open-minded people willing to help with the organization’s ultimate goal of eliminating FGM worldwide once and for all. Meanwhile, through Clitoraid’s “Adopt a Clitoris” campaign, AVN attendees can give someone they never met an unforgettable gift: the restoration of both physical pleasure and self-esteem.

Clitoraid will be supported again this year by UNLV professor Dr. Larry Ashley and his students, who have volunteered their time at Clitoraid's booth.

Montreal, November 25th, 2010 - As part of the “International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women”, Clitoraid invites the public to a silent march to be held Sunday, Nov. 28th in Montreal, Quebec, Ottawa, Vancouver and Toronto. (* see details below).

The United Nations General Assembly, in 1999, designated November 25th the “International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women” (http://www.un.org/depts/dhl/violence) and invited governments, international organizations and non-governmental organizations to organize activities on that day designed to raise public awareness of the problem.

Unfortunately, in the list of acts of violence against women, female genital mutilation (FGM or “cutting”) appears as the most common.

The World Health Organization estimates that worldwide, 100 to 150 million girls and women have undergone female genital mutilation. Each year 2 million more girls are likely to suffer the same fate. Most of them live in 28 African countries, a smaller number in the Middle East and Asian countries. But there are more and more in Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United States of America.

In May 2006, in response to those stunning statistics, RAEL, the spiritual leader of the Raelian Movement, founded CLITORAID (www.clitoraid.org) a private non-profit organization whose objective is to raise public awareness of this terrible reality. Clitoraid’s main purpose is to raise funds to help African women, with very limited financial means, undergo surgery towards the reconstruction of their clitoris. This technique, which was scientifically validated by Dr. Foldes (France), currently allows women of all ages who have suffered “cutting”, to regain clitoral pleasure and to feel whole again.

For more information contact our press office, at: 1-877-793-3126
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A “Silent March” will be held in the following Canadian cities

Sunday, November 28th, 2010 :

QUEBEC :
Sunday Nov. 28th - 12:30 pm
Place d'Youville, in front of La Pointe des Amériques.


MONTREAL :
Sunday Nov. 28th - 1:30 pm
Phillips Square park, across from The Bay


OTTAWA :
Sunday Nov. 28th - 12:30 pm
Corner of Rideau and William, on the south side


VANCOUVER :
Sunday Nov. 28th - 1:00 pm
Robson Square, On Robson Street between Howe Street and Hornby Street


TORONTO :
11:00 am (Saturday, November 27th)
Dundas Square, corner of Yonge and Dundas


The public will be invited to make donations to support “cut” women!

Following the Aug. 10, 2010, publication of an Associated Press article, "Female circumcision victims seek out Colo. doctor," by Catherine Tsai, Clitoraid and Dr. Marci Bowers MD wish to clarify where donations should be sent and explain Clitoraid's role in the surgical process.

Nowhere in her article did Tsai mention Clitoraid, the parent, non-profit organization Dr. Bowers has been generously volunteering for since 2007. Therefore, the article failed to give a complete picture of the program's international implications. To be clear, Clitoraid (clitoraid.org) offers a humanitarian program to restore damage done by Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in North America, Asia and especially in Africa. Clitoraid is in the final stages of building a hospital in Burkina Faso (West Africa) to treat all FGM victims free of charge. Dr. Bowers will inaugurate the hospital once it is ready.

Donations will go toward the Burkina Faso hospital. It is in that vicinity that the largest number of FGM victims reside and where such surgery represents a two-year salary if the average patient were to pay for it. Clitoraid has been a 501 (c) 3 non profit organization since 2006.
Therefore, circumcised women seeking repair and those making donations should contact Clitoraid at , not Dr. Bowers.

"Clitoraid should be given first consideration when considering a donation of any kind, especially out of respect for our busy staff," Dr. Bowers said, adding that she wants to thank those who have written to her office to make donations following publication of Tsai's article.

It's also important to note that Clitoraid handles all post-surgical sexual therapy care under the guidance of sex therapist Dr. Betty Dodson.

Both Clitoraid and Dr. Bowers' office request that the Associated Press publish this joint statement to properly inform the public about Clitoraid and Dr. Bowers' involvement in this far-reaching, humanitarian endeavor.

Sincerely,

Dr. Brigitte Boisselier, PhD, President of Clitoraid
Dr. Marci Bowers, MD, head Clitoraid Surgeon

Sydney June 2nd, 2010

"While the International Raelian Movement is based on the protection of cultural rights of any groups, the line is clearly drawn at any form of violence, disrespect or in this case, outright sexual mutilation!" explains Jarel, leader of the Raelian Movement in Australia. "There can be no justification for such a proposal, what is needed is education and support for women that belong to these cultural groups to help them break free and reclaim what they were rightly born with; a beautiful sex and a functioning clitoris. After all, every human being has been designed to experience pleasure."

“The purpose of genital mutilation is one of cultural sacrifice not religious, and its only purpose is to remove any sexual pleasure the woman might experience,” states Zabou, the coordinator for Clitoraid in Australia. "Australia should aim to be the leaders in the reconstruction of the women who have been rendered a life of pain and suffering due to this barbaric practice, and not be part of its survival"

Clitoraid is a non-profit organization that is currently setting up a hospital in Burkina Fasa, run by volunteer doctors dedicated to the reconstruction of the damage millions of women who struggle to live with the painful consequences of female genital mutilation. Clitoraid’s goal is to inform the population, and also to collect funds to finance the construction of this hospital, where the patients will be operated on for free!!

Zabou: “If some group were to remove the hands of children for cultural reason, would the government offers to do it in hospital under the premise that is safer? of course not. the problem lies in the fact that a clitoris is still considered as dirty and useless. This prejudice has led 170 million women in the world to feel incomplete, ignoring the pleasure of orgasm that is now known as contributing to a healthy life . We cannot let our government be an accomplice to such barbaric practice."
Clitoraid has received several requests from Australian women willing to be repaired. One of them will be operated on by our leader surgeon in Colorado this coming Summer. (dear Nadine, please give Eden the status on that ok?)

For further information contact Eden Bates on +61 425 235 556.