Female genital mutilation / cutting: Toolkit for the Care of Women and Girls

FGM is a serious form of gender-based violence, a blatant violation of women's human rights and a violent form of subordination of women and girls, in total contradiction to the principles of gender equality. Surviving girls are deprived of the ability to make decisions about their own health and to self-determine their bodies. FGM/C is a global phenomenon that crosses geographical, social, economic, and educational boundaries. They are prevalent mainly in 31 countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. But according to recent studies, they are present in as many as 92 countries. An estimated 200 million women and girls worldwide live with the scars of FGM, 44 million of whom are under the age of 15 (UNICEF). Approximately 4 million girls are at risk of undergoing FGM/C each year. Some forms of FGM/C also occur among certain ethnic groups in Central and South America and Eastern Europe. International migration has also increased the number of girls and women with FGM/C or at risk of undergoing it living in Australia, Europe, New Zealand and North America. FGM/C takes the form of traditions that mark the transition from childhood to adulthood, according to a ritual whereby a socially constructed gender identity gives meaning to a biological identity through the physical manipulation of the body. The Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations in September 2015 include, among others, the ‘elimination by 2030 of intolerable practices such as FGM and early marriage (Goal 5.3). The UN General Assembly Resolution No. 67/146, adopted in December 2012, enshrines the universal ban on FGM/C. Several international conventions condemn FGM/C, including the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention); it is the first binding regional treaty that recognises the existence of FGM/C in Europe and the need to address this issue systematically, through data collection, increasing and implementing preventive, protection and support measures for women and girls (such as gender-sensitive asylum and reception procedures). In Italy, the National Strategic Plan on male violence against women 2021-2023 establishes specific surveys and mapping of interventions implemented on the phenomenon as necessary actions to combat and raise awareness on FGM/C (Priority 1.4).