Female Genital Mutilation or Cutting (FGM/C)

From a U.S. Government fact sheet.

FGM/C refers to cutting and other procedures that injure the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.  It maybe called “female circumcision” in certain parts of the world.  The practice has no health benefits and can lead to a range of physical and mental health problems.

Immediate effects may include blood loss, severe pain, and sometimes death. Long-term health problems can include urinary infections, fistula, infertility, painful menstruation or sexual intercourse, and a potential increase in the risk of HIV/AIDS infection.  In addition, women who have had FGM/C are significantly more likely to experience difficulties during childbirth and their babies are more likely to die as a result of the practice.  Finally, the practice often leaves girls and women feeling scared, psychologically scarred, embarrassed, and distressed.

A Public Health Report on Women and Girls at Risk for Genital Mutilation in the U.S.

Objectives. In 1996, the U.S. Congress passed legislation making female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) illegal in the United States. CDC published the first estimates of the number of women and girls at risk for FGM/C in 1997. Since 2012, various constituencies have again raised concerns about the practice in the United States. We updated an earlier estimate of the number of women and girls in the United States who were at risk for FGM/C or its consequences.

 Methods. We estimated the number of women and girls who were at risk for undergoing FGM/C or its consequences in 2012 by applying country-specific prevalence of FGM/C to the estimated number of women and girls living in the United States who were born in that country or who lived with a parent born in that country.

 Results. Approximately 513,000 women and girls in the United States were at risk for FGM/C or its consequences in 2012, which was more than three times higher than the earlier estimate, based on 1990 data. The increase in the number of women and girls younger than 18 years of age at risk for FGM/C was more than four times that of previous estimates.

 Conclusion. The estimated increase was wholly a result of rapid growth in the number of immigrants from FGM/C-practicing countries living in the United States and not from increases in FGM/C prevalence in those countries. Scientifically valid information regarding whether women or their daughters have actually undergone FGM/C and related information that can contribute to efforts to prevent the practice in the United States and provide needed health services to women who have undergone FGM/C are needed.

The entire report can be read here:

https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/reports/fgmutilation.pdf

FGM is recognized internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and women. It reflects deep-rooted inequality between the sexes, and constitutes an extreme form of discrimination against women. It is nearly always carried out on minors and is a violation of the rights of children. The practice also violates a person's rights to health, security and physical integrity, the right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and the right to life when the procedure results in death.

Yet FGM/C occurs on almost every continent.  The United States is no exception.  One estimate is that as many as half a million girls and women have been victims of this form of violence or are at risk of being victims.  Most victims were born in countries where FMG/C is rooted in cultural beliefs or who live with a parent born in one of these countries.

The burden of preventing FGM/C falls largely on law enforcement but this presents significant challenges.  Affected women and girls are difficult to identify and may not come in contact with law enforcement.  Women who had the procedure when they were very young may not even recognize they are victims.  (This procedure may be done on females as early as infancy.)  Fearing condemnation and harassment from their families and communities, many girls and women will not seek help and/or deny it if asked.

This form of violence against women and girls is such a complicated issue, it is going to take the co-operation of many agencies beginning with education and understanding.  We all have to see and understand the problem to deal with it successfully.