While the exact number of girls and women worldwide who have undergone FGM remains unknown, at least million girls and women aged 15—49 from 31 countries have been subjected to the practice. There has been significant progress made in eliminating the practice in the past 30 years. Young girls in many countries today are at much lower risk of being subjected to FGM than their mothers and grandmothers were in the past.
However, progress is not universal or fast enough. In some countries, the practice remains as common today as it was three decades ago. Over 90 per cent of women and girls in Guinea and Somalia undergo some form of genital mutilation or cutting. Around 1 in 3 adolescent girls years who have undergone FGM were cut by health personnel. In some communities, the practice has been driven underground rather than ended, leading to girls being subjected to cutting at younger ages amidst greater secrecy.
Opposition to the practice is building though. In countries affected by FGM, 7 in 10 girls and women think the practice should end. In the last two decades, the proportion of girls and women in these countries who want the practice to stop has doubled. Ending FGM requires action at many levels, including by families and communities, protection and care services for girls and women, laws, and political commitment at the local, regional, national and international levels.
The programme supports zero tolerance laws and policies, while working with health workers to both eliminate female genital mutilation and provide care to women and girls who have undergone the procedure.
To help change social norms, we work with communities to openly discuss the benefits of ending FGM and to build opposition to the practice. Is FGM required by certain religions? Since FGM is part of a cultural tradition, can it still be condemned? Does anyone have the right to interfere in age-old cultural traditions such as FGM? What is the link between FGM and ethnicity? In which countries is FGM banned by law? Which international and regional instruments can be referenced for the elimination of FGM?
FGM refers to all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for cultural or other non-medical reasons.
An estimated million girls and women alive today are believed to have been subjected to FGM; but rates of FGM are increasing, a reflection of global population growth. See more. If FGM practices continue at recent levels, 68 million girls will be cut between and in 25 countries where FGM is routinely practiced and more recent data are available.
A key challenge is not only protecting girls who are currently at risk but also ensuring that those to be born in the future will be free from the dangers of the practice. This is especially important considering that FGM-concentrated countries are generally experiencing high population growth and have large youth populations. In , an estimated 4.
This number of girls cut each year is projected to rise to 4. FGM has serious implications for the sexual and reproductive health of girls and women. Complications may occur in all types of FGM, but are most frequent with infibulation.
Immediate complications include severe pain, shock, haemorrhage, tetanus or infection, urine retention, ulceration of the genital region and injury to adjacent tissue, wound infection, urinary infection, fever, and septicemia. Haemorrhage and infection can be severe enough to cause death. Long-term consequences include complications during childbirth , anaemia, the formation of cysts and abscesses, keloid scar formation, damage to the urethra resulting in urinary incontinence, dyspareunia painful sexual intercourse , sexual dysfunction, hypersensitivity of the genital area and increased risk of HIV transmission , as well as psychological effects.
Infibulation, or type III FGM, may cause complete vaginal obstruction resulting in the accumulation of menstrual flow in the vagina and uterus. Infibulation creates a physical barrier to sexual intercourse and childbirth. An infibulated woman therefore has to undergo gradual dilation of the vaginal opening before sexual intercourse can take place. Often, infibulated women are cut open on the first night of marriage by the husband or a circumciser to enable the husband to be intimate with his wife.
At childbirth, many women also have to be cut again because the vaginal opening is too small to allow for the passage of a baby. Infibulation is also linked to menstrual and urination disorders, recurrent bladder and urinary tract infections, fistulae and infertility. A recent study found that, compared with women who had not been subjected to FGM, those who had undergone FGM faced a significantly greater risk of requiring a Caesarean section, an episiotomy and an extended hospital stay, and also of suffering post-partum haemorrhage.
Women who have undergone infibulation are more likely to suffer from prolonged and obstructed labour, sometimes resulting in foetal death and obstetric fistula. The infants of mothers who have undergone more extensive forms of FGM are at an increased risk of dying at birth. Two high-FGM-prevalence countries are among the four countries with the highest numbers of maternal death globally.
Five of the high-prevalence countries have maternal mortality ratios of per , live births and above. When one tool is used to cut several girls, as is often the case in communities where large groups of girls are cut on the same day during a socio-cultural rite, there is a risk of HIV transmission. Additionally, due to damage to the female sexual organs, sexual intercourse can result in the laceration of tissue, which greatly increases risk of HIV transmission.
The same is true for the blood loss that accompanies childbirth. The psychological stress of the procedure may trigger behavioural disturbances in children, closely linked to loss of trust and confidence in caregivers. In the longer term, women may suffer feelings of anxiety and depression. Sexual dysfunction may also contribute to marital conflicts or divorce. Type II , also called excision: Partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia minora, with or without excision of the labia majora.
The amount of tissue that is removed varies widely from community to community. Type III , also called infibulation: Narrowing of the vaginal orifice with a covering seal. This can take place with or without removal of the clitoris. Type IV: All other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for non-medical purposes, for example: pricking, piercing, incising, scraping or cauterization.
Incision refers to making cuts in the clitoris or cutting free the clitoral prepuce, but it also relates to incisions made in the vaginal wall and to incision of the perineum and the symphysis.
Deinfibulation refers to the practice of cutting open a woman who has been infibulated to allow intercourse or to facilitate childbirth. Reinfibulation is the practice of sewing the external labia back together after deinfibulation. Types I and II are the most common, but there is variation among countries. Type III — infibulation — is experienced by about 10 per cent of all affected women and is most likely to occur in Somalia, northern Sudan and Djibouti. Adding to the confusion is the fact that health experts in many Eastern and Southern African countries encourage male circumcision to reduce HIV transmission; FGM, on the other hand, can increase the risk of HIV transmission.
It is also sometimes argued that the term obscures the serious physical and psychological effects of genital cutting on women. It establishes a clear distinction from male circumcision. This expression gained support in the late s, and since , it has been used in several United Nations conference documents and has served as a policy and advocacy tool. Today, a greater number of countries have outlawed the practice, and an increasing number of communities have committed to abandon it, indicating that the social and cultural perceptions of the practice are being challenged by communities themselves, along with national, regional and international decision-makers.
Therefore, it is time to accelerate the momentum towards full abandonment of the practice by emphasizing the human-rights aspect of the issue. The origins of the practice are unclear. It predates the rise of Christianity and Islam. It is said some Egyptian mummies display characteristics of FGM.
Historians such as Herodotus claim that, in the fifth century BC, the Phoenicians, the Hittites and the Ethiopians practiced circumcision. It is also reported that circumcision rites were practiced in tropical zones of Africa, in the Philippines, by certain tribes in the Upper Amazon, by women of the Arunta tribe in Australia, and by certain early Romans and Arabs.
As recent as the s, clitoridectomy was practiced in Western Europe and the United States to treat perceived ailments including hysteria, epilepsy, mental disorders, masturbation, nymphomania and melancholia. In other words, the practice of FGM has been followed by many different peoples and societies across the ages and continents.
It varies. In some areas, FGM is carried out during infancy — as early as a couple of days after birth. In others, it takes place during childhood, at the time of marriage, during a woman's first pregnancy or after the birth of her first child. Recent reports suggest that the age has been dropping in some areas, with most FGM carried out on girls between the ages of 0 and 15 years.
And in many western countries, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United States, the United Kingdom and various European countries, FGM is practiced among diaspora populations from areas where the practice is common. FGM is usually carried out by elderly people in the community usually, but not exclusively, women designated to perform this task or by traditional birth attendants. Among certain populations, FGM may be carried out by traditional health practitioners, male barbers, members of secret societies, herbalists or sometimes a female relative.
In some cases, medical professionals perform FGM. In some countries, this can reach as high as three in four girls. FGM is carried out with special knives, scissors, scalpels, pieces of glass or razor blades. Anaesthetic and antiseptics are generally not used unless the procedure is carried out by medical practitioners. In communities where infibulations is practiced, girls' legs are often bound together to immobilize them for days, allowing the formation of scar tissue.
In every society in which it is practiced, female genital mutilation is a manifestation of deeply entrenched gender inequality. Where it is widely practiced, FGM is supported by both men and women, usually without question, and anyone that does not follow the norm may face condemnation, harassment and ostracism. It may be difficult for families to abandon the practice without support from the wider community. Female genital cutting or circumcision FGC.
Actions for this page Listen Print. Summary Read the full fact sheet. On this page. Different types of female genital cutting Health impacts of female genital cutting What the law says about Female genital cutting in Victoria De-infibulation after FGC Where to get help. Different types of female genital cutting The different types of FGC are classified by the extent of the practice involved. The hood of skin that sits over the clitoris prepuce is removed. The clitoris may or may not be removed in part or in total.
The entire clitoris is removed. The inner lips labia minora are either partially or totally removed. The removal of all or part of the labia minora and labia majora, with the stitching of a seal across the vagina, leaving a small opening for the passage of urine and menstrual blood. Type IV — other practices including piercing, cauterising, scraping or using corrosive substances designed to scar and narrow the vagina.
Health impacts of female genital cutting FGC has no health benefit to women and girls, and it can have negative impacts on sexual and reproductive health. There may be immediate and long-term negative health impacts including: severe pain bleeding shock infection death scarring and cysts blocked flow of urine urinary incontinence recurring urinary tract infections infections of the pelvis increased risk of infertility painful sexual intercourse reduced sexual enjoyment post-traumatic stress syndrome, including nightmares and flashbacks depression social isolation childbirth difficulties, such as severe tearing and haemorrhage chronic anxiety.
What the law says about Female genital cutting in Victoria Female genital cutting is illegal in Victoria and across Australia, in all circumstances. De-infibulation after FGC The operation to reopen the vagina is called de-infibulation. Where to get help The Victorian Government provides funding for clinical and non-clinical services for women and communities. Female genital mutilation , World Health Organization. Working to end myths and misconceptions about female genital mutilation , , World Health Organization.
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