International Day of Zero Tolerance
to Female Genital Mutilation
6 February
Just the Facts
What?
- Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) is the cutting, removal, and sometimes sewing up of external female
genitalia for cultural or other nontherapeutic reasons. It can be
performed as early as infancy and as late as age 30.
- Most women (80 percent) who undergo this procedure have most or all of
their clitoris removed and some or all of the labia minora cut off as
well.
- Another 15 percent of women undergo infibulation, the removal of part or
all of the external genitalia and the stitching/narrowing of the vaginal
opening.
- The remaining cases involve pricking or piercing the clitoris and/or
labia; stretching the clitoris and/or labia; burning the clitoris and
surrounding tissue; scraping the tissue surrounding the vaginal orifice or
cutting the vagina; introducing corrosive substances into the vagina to
cause bleeding or for the purpose of tightening or narrowing it.
Who?
- An estimated 100 million to 140 million girls and women worldwide
have undergone female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and more than 3
million girls are at risk for cutting each year on the African continent
alone.
- Practitioners of FGM/C range from traditional healers who use crude
instruments without anesthetics to trained providers in health care
facilities.
Why?
- FGM/C is deeply rooted in and sustained through cultural beliefs
about religion, family honor, sexual purity, and aesthetic preference.
These views vary by country and ethnic group.
Why not?
- The practice is legally prohibited in 30 countries worldwide. Eighteen
African countries—Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic,
Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea,
Kenya, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, and Togo—have
enacted laws criminalizing FGM/C.
- FGM/C is often recognized as a violation of child, gender, and human
rights.
- Health consequences differ according to the type and severity of the
procedure performed.
- Short-term difficulties include severe pain, shock, hemorrhage,
urine retention, ulceration of the genital region, and injury to adjacent
tissue. Hemorrhage and infection can cause death.
- Long-term consequences include psychological trauma, a feeling of
incompleteness, and anxiety and depression; difficulties during childbirth;
cysts and abscesses; keloid scar formation; damage to the urethra
resulting in urinary incontinence; painful sexual intercourse; and
sexual dysfunction.
- Despite the prevalence of FGM/C, health systems, providers
(traditional and modern), and the women themselves often are poorly
equipped to handle the resulting complications, especially those
associated with pregnancy, and the physical and psychological sexual
dysfunctions.
- International treaties that condemn FGM/C include the Convention on
the Rights of the Child; the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms
of Discrimination Against Women; and the African Charter on the Rights
and Welfare of the Child.
Does research makes a difference?
- Population Council activities start with diagnostic studies to
understand the cultural context of FGM/C within a given community.
Researchers review evidence and interview local and religious leaders,
community members, and health care providers before designing and
implementing programs.
- The Population Council collaborates with organizations ranging from
village committees to national ministries of health to international
agencies such as the World Health Organization and UNICEF. Teams work
together to assess which strategies are successful—and determine
alternatives to efforts that produce less-optimal results.
- Council researchers provide skills training and technical support so
that culturally appropriate, evidence-based programs to combat FGM/C can
be developed, sustained, and evaluated as long as needed.
Sources
- Center for Reproductive Rights: "Female genital mutilation (FGM):
Legal prohibitions worldwide" (offsite
link)
- Lancet: "Reaching
the tipping point against female genital mutilation" (PDF)
- Population Reference Bureau: "Female genital mutilation/cutting: Data
and trends (offsite
link)
- UNICEF: "Child protection information sheet: Female genital mutilation/cutting" (offsite
link)
-
United Nations Development Fund for Women: "Facts & figures on VAW: Harmful
traditional practices" (offsite
link)
- World Health Organization: "Fact sheet no. 241: Female genital mutilation" (offsite
link)
|
|
