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FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION/CUTTING
Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C), sometimes also referred to as female circumcision, is a term that describes a range of practices involving the cutting, removal, and sometimes the sewing up of the external female genitalia for cultural or other nontherapeutic reasons. The United Nations estimates that two million girls undergo FGM/C each year. The possible repercussions of FGM/C are numerous, including psychological trauma, difficulties during childbirth, gynecological problems, and death. The Population Council has conducted operations research in Burkina Faso, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Indonesia, Kenya, Mali, Senegal, and the Sudan to document the extent of FGM/C, the types of cutting that take place, and resulting complications. Council staff members also track attitude changes and document and evaluate interventions to end this practice. Researchers from the Council's recently completed FRONTIERS program convened numerous meetings and conferences to assess the state-of-the-art in FGM/C research and to review methodological issues concerning research on interventions to eradicate FGM/C. Results of these meetings are helping nongovernmental organizations in Africa develop their ability to perform operations research. The Council also was instrumental in organizing the International Network to Analyze, Communicate, and Transform the Campaign Against FGC/FGM/FC (INTACT Network). INTACT promotes high-quality research, wide dissemination of study findings, and strengthened links between researchers and program and policy leaders. Other recent projects include testing a community-based education program to improve women’s reproductive health and eradicate FGM/C (Burkina Faso); encouraging the abandonment of FGM/C among the Somali community (Kenya); evaluating the long-term impact of the Tostan project on the abandonment of FGM/C and child marriage (Senegal); providing technical assistance to CARE International for testing interventions to eliminate FGM/C in Africa; and disseminating research results on FGM/C in Africa. Selected Projects Current
Completed
Publications/Resources on this issue See Also
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