Gender and trade

This guide takes two positions in the midst of these debates. Firstly, it is addressed to an international audience and presents evidence on common assumptions about FGM, including often inaccurate and harmful discourses about the practice. Secondly, it draws on the (limited) available evidence to address the gap in the literature on how to design culturally-sensitive programmes to shift social norms around FGM in ways that address communities’ needs and priorities and are accepted and supported by key actors who influence and support the practice.

This Interagency Statement is written and signed by a wider group of United Nations agencies than the previous one, to support advocacy for the abandonment of female genital mutilation. It is based on new evidence and lessons learnt over the past decade. It highlights the wide recognition of the human rights and legal dimensions of the problem and provides current data on the prevalence of female genital mutilation. It summarizes findings from research on the reasons why the practice continues, highlighting that the practice is a social convention which can only be changed through coordinated collective action by practising communities. It also summarizes recent research on its damaging effects on the health of women, girls and newborn babies. Drawing on experience from interventions in many countries, the new statement describes the elements needed, for both working towards complete abandonment of female genital mutilation, and caring for those who have suffered, and continue to suffer, from its consequences.

This Statement is intended to provide protection against female circumcision, so that girls can grow up in good physical and mental health.

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is con­sidered a human rights violation. The Arab region is home to 50 million cases of FGM, accounting for a quarter of global cases. In the region, there is lack of evidence on the impact of humanitarian crises, in par­ticular the effects of conflict and forced displacement on rates and drivers of FGM. Several of the countries in the Arab region with high rates of FGM are fragile, affected by crisis or host large internally displaced populations. This report, produced by the United Nations Population Fund Arab States Regional Office and the Women’s Refugee Commission, synthesizes learnings from a scoping review and participatory discus­sions with experts and practitioners from Egypt, Sudan, and Yemen working on FGM across the humanitarian–development nexus. The three study sites were selected because they are either crisis-affected or host sizable displaced populations where FGM occurs.

Every year, three million girls and women are subjected to genital mutilation/cutting, a dangerous and potentially life-threatening procedure that causes unspeakable pain and suffering. Not only is it practiced among communities in Africa and the Middle East, but also in immigrant communities throughout the world. Moreover, recent data reveal that it occurs on a much larger scale than previously thought. It continues to be one of the most persistent, pervasive and silently endured human rights violations. This Innocenti Digest examines the prevalence of FGM/C and its social dynamics. It provides an explanation as to why the practice persists and of the elements necessary for its abandonment. It also takes stock of progress to date, identifies what works and what does not, and provides direction regarding the most successful strategies to promote the abandonment of FGM/C. Combining concrete field experience with tested academic theory, the Digest provides a practical tool to bring about positive change for girls and women.