Survivors of FGM/C unite to call for an end to the practice
Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: A Call for a Global Response, a new report released by Equality Now, End FGM European Network and the US End FGM/C Network, features the voices of survivors of FGM/C from across the world.
Read moreFGM/C in the Middle East
Where are women living with the consequences of FGM/C or at risk in the Middle East?
Explore full country data | Download map as PDF
Are there laws against FGM/C in the Middle East?
In the Middle East, only Iraq (Kurdistan) and Oman have specific laws or legal provisions banning FGM/C.
Learn more about Stop FGM Iran.
FGM in Africa
FGM/C in Africa
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a human rights violation, a form of violence and discrimination against girls and women. It is most often carried out on girls between infancy and age 15, though adult women are also subjected.
Where are women living with the consequences of FGM/C or at risk in Africa?
Are there laws against FGM/C in Africa?
Laws against FGM/C are most common in the African continent. 28 countries in Africa have enacted specific laws or specific legal provisions against FGM/C.
FGM/C is global, but so is the movement to end it.
FGM/C in the Americas
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a human rights violation, a form of violence and discrimination against girls and women. It is most often carried out on girls between infancy and age 15, though adult women are also subjected.
Where are women living with the consequences of FGM/C or at risk in the Americas?
- CANADA - There are no official estimates of the number of survivors of FGM/C living in Canada, or women and girls at risk of undergoing FGM/C. The Canadian Border Services Agency has stated that “it is almost certain” that FGM/C is also happening in Canada. The Canadian federal government has estimated that a few thousand girls are at risk of undergoing the procedure since Canada has sizeable populations of diaspora communities from countries where FGM/C is known to be practiced.
- COLOMBIA Type I FGM/C is known to be practiced by the Embera indigenous people in Colombia, normally on newborn babies. Media reports also indicate that some other indigenous communities like the Nasa community may practice FGM/C.
- UNITED STATES - FGM/C is widely known to take place among diaspora communities in the United States. Less known are the stories of FGM/C occurring in the local population, including within Christian communities. An estimated 513,000* women and girls nationwide are at risk of undergoing FGM/C.
Countries with historical evidence of the practice of FGM/C in the Americas
In a number of countries, including Peru, Mexico, and Brazil, there is historical evidence of FGM/C having taken place among the native population within the last generation. However, further research is needed to confirm whether or not the practice has died out or if it persists. Further research is needed in these countries to confirm whether FGM/C is still taking place or not.
- Peru: The practice of introcision has been reported in the past among the Conibos, a division of Pano Indians from Peru. (OHCHR, 1995). Introcision has been described as a practice where an elderly woman using a bamboo knife “cuts around the hymen from the vaginal entrance and severs the hymen from the labia, at the same time exposing the clitoris. Medicinal herbs are applied.” A documentary film from 2017 (Chua) documents the existence of FGM/C among the Shipibo people in Peru in the form of clitoridectomies (Type I FGM/C). Community members, however, reported that the practice was last known to take place around forty years ago and that it had been abandoned by the community. There is no recent evidence from Peru which documents the continued existence of FGM/C within the country.
- Brazil and Mexico: A report from the UN Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights from 1995 reports the practice of “introcision” in Brazil and eastern Mexico (OHCHR, 1995). Introcision is usually defined as the enlarging or tearing of the vaginal opening and in some cases the perineum as well. Clitoridectomies (Type I FGM/C) have been reported in the past in Western Brazil and Mexico until the late 1970s (Rushwan, 2013), though there is insufficient evidence to determine current practice.
- In addition, there is evidence of white communities in the U.S. and the U.K being subjected to FGM/C, as doctors used to prescribe clitoridectomies (Type I FGM/C) as a cure for hysteria, mental illness and masturbation in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Are there laws against FGM/C in the Americas?
The U.S. and Canada have specific laws or legal provisions against FGM/C.
There are no specific laws or legal provisions against FGM/C in Latin America.
Take action to end FGM in the US
Learn more about the US End FGM/C Network.
Learn more about the End FGM Canada Network.
FGM/C is global, but so is the movement to end it.
FGM in the Asia Pacific Region
Where are women living with the consequences of FGM/C or at risk in the Asia-Pacific?
Explore the detailed country statistics | Download map as PDF
Are there laws against FGM/C in the Asia Pacific region?
In Asia, not a single country has enacted a specific legal prohibition against FGM/C. Both Australia and New Zealand have specific laws against FGM/C.
FGM/C: A Global Picture
Laws Against FGM/C: A Global Picture
Of the 92 countries where FGM/C is practiced 51 countries have specifically prohibited FGM/C under their national laws, either through a specific anti-FGM/C law or by prohibiting FGM/C under a criminal provision in other domestic laws such as the criminal or penal code, child protection laws, violence against women laws or domestic violence laws.
- Laws against FGM/C are most common in the African continent with 55% of total laws globally coming from the 28 countries in Africa that have enacted specific laws or specific legal provisions against FGM/C.
- Apart from the African continent, 41% of total laws against FGM/C are of countries where FGM/C is most commonly practiced by diaspora communities, with 16 European countries, the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand all having specific laws or legal provisions against FGM/C. Georgia has also recently passed a law against FGM/C**.
- In contrast, in the Middle East, only Iraq (Kurdistan) and Oman have specific laws or legal provisions banning FGM/C.***
- In Asia, not a single country has enacted a specific legal prohibition against FGM/C.****
- There are also no specific laws or legal provisions against FGM/C in Latin America.
* This information is correct up to January 2020. Read the full list of countries here.
** In Georgia, FGM/C is commonly practiced by non-diaspora communities.
*** Egyptian law also specifically prohibits FGM/C. However, Egypt has been included as part of Africa as opposed to the Middle East for the purposes of this report.
**** Cyprus and Georgia have passed specific prohibitions against FGM/C. Though Cyprus and Georgia are sometimes considered part of Asia, they are included within the European continent for the purposes of this report as Cyprus is a member of the EU and Georgia is a State Party to the Council.
FGM in Europe
The European Union estimates that around 600,000 women and girls are living with the consequences of FGM/C in the EU and that a further 180,000 girls and women are at risk of undergoing the harmful practice in 13 European countries alone.
Where are women living with the consequences of FGM/C or at risk in Europe?
The European Union estimates that around 600,000 women and girls are living with the consequences of FGM/C in the EU and that a further 180,000 girls and women are at risk of undergoing the harmful practice in 13 European countries alone.
Explore the full Europe country data.
Are there laws against FGM/C in Europe?
16 European countries having specific laws or legal provisions against FGM/C. Georgia has also recently passed a law against FGM/C.
Learn more about the End FGM European Network.
The official global picture of FGM/C is incomplete
According to official UNICEF figures (2020), FGM/C affects at least 200 million women and girls in 31 countries worldwide. This figure only includes countries where there is available data from large-scale representative surveys, which consist of 27 countries from the African continent, as well as Iraq, Yemen, the Maldives, and Indonesia. It is widely acknowledged that this presents an incomplete picture of this global phenomenon.
Read moreFGM/C: A Call for a Global Response - Recommendations
The global community has committed, through SDG 5.3, to end FGM/C by 2030, and with less than ten years to go, we are seriously off track. According to UNFPA (2018), if current population trends continue, at least 68 million more girls worldwide will face FGM/C by 2030, with an increase of the current estimates of 4.1 million girls cut each year to 4.6 million per year by 2030. Even these alarming figures are grossly inadequate as they do not take into account, as outlined in this report, at least 60 countries where there is no national-level prevalence data available.
Increased awareness of the prevalence and harmful effects of FGM/C is very much linked to increased interventions and resource allocation. However, the current commitments and investments will simply not suffice and we need to take urgent action on a global level and scale up our collective efforts to end FGM/C by 2030 in line with the SDGs.
Key Recommendations
1. Strengthen the global political commitment to eliminating FGM/C
Political commitment is key to ending FGM/C. This report urges governments, the international community, and donors to renew their commitment towards the elimination of FGM/C worldwide.
2. Urgently increase resources and investment to end FGM/C and support survivors
It is acknowledged that current efforts to end FGM/C are severely under-resourced. Current funding does not sufficiently take into consideration all countries where FGM/C is present, particularly some of the countries highlighted in this report. If we are to end FGM/C we need to urgently scale-up investments to adequately protect and support all women and girls.
3. Strengthen the evidence base through critical research
As highlighted in this report, significant data gaps exist in relation to the prevalence and practice of FGM/C globally. Having reliable data on FGM/C prevalence is extremely important since this data can be used to trigger and guide action to end FGM/C, assess progress on prevention, measure effectiveness of anti-FGM/C interventions and ensure accountability and influence global resource allocation towards ending FGM/C.
4. Enact and enforce comprehensive laws and national policies
A specific legal and policy framework tackling FGM/C demonstrates political will towards ending FGM/C and lays down a norm that FGM/C is a harmful practice. While not sufficient on their own, their existence can play an important role in accelerating social change and contribute to ending the practice of FGM/C. The effectiveness of such anti-FGM/C frameworks, however, depends largely on their correct implementation involving key actors including law enforcement agencies, child protection professionals, educators, healthcare professionals, local, traditional and religious leaders, government agencies, advocates, communities and survivors.
5. Improve wellbeing for survivors by providing necessary and critical support and services
As this report demonstrates, women and girls in over 90 countries in the world live with the lifelong consequences of FGM/C, with prevalence estimates from only 31 countries indicating that there are over 200 million survivors of FGM/C. All these women and girls are survivors of a harmful practice and must be able to access equal standards of tailored support and care, from a physical, psychological and sexological perspective, regardless of where they live. This is paramount to empower these women and girls and support them in their lives.
Habiba - Oman
Habiba al Hinai is an Omani women’s rights activist, and Founder and Executive Director of the Omani Association for Human Rights (OAHR). She is based in Germany.