Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: A Statistical Overview and Exploration of the Dynamics of Change

This 194-page report discusses what publishers consider is the largest ever number of nationally representative surveys from 29 countries where Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) is concentrated, including 17 new surveys undertaken in the last three years. It includes data on girls under 15 years of age, providing insights on dynamics surrounding FGM/C, while also presenting estimates on prevalence and levels of support for the practice nationally and among selected population groups. According to the report, only with such knowledge can policies and programmes be effectively designed, implemented, and monitored to promote its abandonment. The report also calls on activists to "Be louder, be clearer and bring the voices against female genital mutilation or cutting into the public sphere."

The findings of the report point to a decline in FGM/C in numerous countries in which it is practised. Prevalence has dropped by as much as almost half among adolescent girls in Benin, the Central African Republic, Iraq, Liberia, and Nigeria. According the report, in most of the countries surveyed, the majority of girls and women who have undergone the practice do not see benefits to it and think that the practice should stop. More mothers are aware that FGM/C can lead to their daughter's, or a girl's, death. Yet, perhaps one of the most striking revelations is the degree of discrepancy between the low support for FGM/C and the high prevalence of its practice.

The following are some of the key research findings:

• Seek change in individual attitudes about FGM/C, but also address expectations surrounding the practice within the larger social group: A review of trends in attitudes towards FGM/C and prevalence suggests that diminishing support tends to precede an actual decline in the practice. To influence individual attitudes, it is important to continue to raise awareness that ending FGM/C will improve the health and well-being of girls and women and safeguard their human rights. At the same time, legislative action is critical, especially as an instrument to decrease support for FGM/C, including by highlighting the legal consequences of engaging in the practice. Also essential are efforts to correct the misconception that FGM/C is required by religion. In numerous countries, religious leaders and scholars are attempting to 'delink' FGM/C from religion. While shifts in individual attitudes are important, the data also show that they do not automatically lead to behaviour change. Across countries, many cut girls have mothers who oppose the practice. This indicates that other factors, which may include expectations within the larger social group, prevent women from acting in accordance with their personal preferences. Data also reveal that the most commonly reported reason for carrying out FGM/C is a sense of social obligation.
• Find ways to make hidden attitudes favouring the abandonment of the practice more visible: Discrepancies between declining support for FGM/C and the continuation of the practice suggest that attitudes about genital cutting tend to be kept in the private sphere. Opening the practice up to public scrutiny in a respectful manner, as is being done in many programmes throughout Africa, can provide the spark for community-wide change. More can be done to bring the lack of support for FGM/C into the public sphere. Programme activities can stimulate discussion within practising groups so that individual views opposing the practice can be aired. Local and national media as well as other trusted communication channels can serve as a forum to disseminate information on decreasing support for FGM/C as well as to discuss the advantages of ending the practice.
• Increase engagement by boys and men in ending FGM/C and empower girls: Discussion about FGM/C needs to take place at all levels of society, starting with the family, and include boys and men. This is especially important since the data indicate that girls and women tend to consistently underestimate the share of boys and men who want FGM/C to end. Data also reveal that a large proportion of wives do not even know their husbands’ opinions of the practice. Facilitating discussion of the issue within couples and in forums that engage girls and boys and women and men may accelerate the process of abandonment by bringing to light lower levels of support than commonly believed, especially among men, who are likely to wield greater power in the community. In addition, the pattern indicating that girls and younger women tend to have less interest than their older counterparts in continuing the practice suggests that they can be important catalysts of change, including through intergenerational dialogues.
• Increase exposure to groups that do not practise FGM/C: Where prevalence and support for FGM/C are very high, increasing exposure to groups that do not practise it and awareness of the resulting benefits is crucial. Through such exposure, individuals are able to witness that girls who are not cut thrive and their families suffer no negative consequences. This can make the alternative of not cutting plausible. The more affinity practising groups have with the non-practising groups they are exposed to and interact with, the greater the likelihood that positive influence will be exerted. Data also show that prevalence levels are typically lower among individuals that have completed higher levels of education. This suggests that education is an important mechanism to increase awareness of the dangers of FGM/C and knowledge of groups that do not practise it. Education also fosters questioning and discussion, and provides opportunities for individuals to take on social roles that are not dependent on the practice of FGM/C for acceptance.
• Promote abandonment of FGM/C along with improved status and opportunities for girls, rather than advocating for milder forms of the practice: An important question for programming is whether advocating a shift to less severe forms of cutting is a path that is effective for eliminating FGM/C. The data on changes in the practice indicate a trend towards less severe forms of cutting in certain countries. However, overall, the type of cutting performed has changed little across generations. While the findings are not conclusive, the stability of the practice suggests that pursuing the elimination of FGM/C by moving towards a progressive reduction in the degree of cutting does not hold much promise. Moreover, the benefits of a marginal decrease in harm resulting from less severe forms of FGM/C need to be weighed against the opportunity cost of promoting the end of FGM/C as one of many harmful practices that jeopardize the well-being of girls and infringe upon their human rights. In countries including Ethiopia, Guinea-Bissau and the United Republic of Tanzania, programmes that aim to raise the status of girls and women in society are helping to discourage FGM/C as well as child marriage and forced marriage.

Overall, the findings presented here confirm progress reported by programmatic initiatives designed to end FGM/C. They also contain some welcome surprises, such as a greater than expected decline in prevalence in the Central African Republic, which had not been previously documented. The report also raises new questions. For example, it is unclear why a discernible decline in FGM/C has not been found in Senegal, where concerted efforts to eliminate the practice have been under way for over a decade. Additional research and analyses are needed to provide a clearer picture of the reasons why data reflect greater or smaller than expected changes in the practice. If commitment is sustained and programmes strengthened in light of increasing evidence, the data should show that the transformation currently under way has gained momentum.