Female Genital Mutilation and Cutting Telling a Story

Female Genital Mutilation and Cutting: Telling a Story with Trends

Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting Overview n An estimated 100 million to 140 million girls and women worldwide have undergone female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and more than 3 million girls are at risk for cutting each year on the African continent alone. 1 n FGM/C is generally performed on girls between ages 4 and 12, although it is practiced in some cultures as early as a few days after birth or as late as just prior to marriage. n According to a 2006 WHO study, FGM/C can be linked to increased complications in childbirth and even maternal deaths. 1 P. Stanley Yoder and Shane Khan, Numbers of Women Circumcised in Africa: The Production of a Total (Calverton, MD: ORC Macro, March 2008). © 2012 Population Reference Bureau. All rights reserved. www. prb. org

Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting Overview continued n FGM/C is practiced in at least 28 countries in Africa and a few others in Asia and the Middle East. n FGM/C is practiced at all educational levels and in all social classes and occurs among many religious groups, although no religion mandates it. © 2012 Population Reference Bureau. All rights reserved. www. prb. org

Types of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting n Type 1 or Clitoridectomy: Partial or total removal of the clitoris and/or the clitoral hood. n Type 2 or excision: Partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia minora, with or without excision of the labia majora. n Type 3 or Infibulation: Narrowing of the vaginal orifice with creation of a covering seal by cutting and placing together the labia minora and/or the labia majora, with or without excision of the clitoris. n Type 4 or Unclassified: All other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for nonmedical purposes, for example, pricking, piercing, incising, scraping, and cauterization. Note: Current questionnaires used in the Demographic and Health Surveys do not differentiate between Types I and II, but only between whether a girl or woman has been cut, whether tissue has been removed, and whether tissue has been sewn closed. © 2012 Population Reference Bureau. All rights reserved. www. prb. org

Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting, by Age Prevalence Among Younger and Older Women Percent 99 97 96 81 80 80 81 62 44 35 28 22 15 7 Somalia 2006 Ages 35 -39 Egypt 2008 Gambia 2005 -06 Ethiopia 2005 Côte d'Ivoire 2006 Kenya 2008 -09 Tanzania 2010 Ages 15 -19 Sources: ICF Macro, Demographic and Health Surveys; UNICEF, Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys. © 2012 Population Reference Bureau. All rights reserved. www. prb. org

Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting, by Residence Prevalence Among Urban and Rural Areas Percent 97 93 96 86 81 87 76 71 48 39 37 23 28 26 17 8 Sierra Leone 2006 Djibouti 2006 Urban Mali 2006 Burkina Faso. Guinea-Bissau 2006 Senegal 2010 -11 Nigeria 2008 Tanzania 2010 Rural Sources: ICF Macro, Demographic and Health Surveys; UNICEF, Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys. © 2012 Population Reference Bureau. All rights reserved. www. prb. org

Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting, Within Countries Percent 98 98 97 92 88 87 74 72 58 36 27 27 13 1 Senegal 2010 -11 Lowest Region 1 Kenya 2008 -09 Highest Region 1 Côte d'Ivoire 2006 Ethiopia 2005 Liberia 2007 Mauritania 2007 National Sources: ICF Macro, Demographic and Health Surveys; UNICEF, Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys. © 2012 Population Reference Bureau. All rights reserved. www. prb. org

Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting, by Type Prevalence by Type 91 Percent 83 79 76 75 46 39 19 15 13 10 4 Eritrea 2002 2 1 Somalia 2006 Nicked, No Flesh Removed Chad 2004 Flesh Removed 3 Mali 2006 2 Kenya 2008 -09 2 1 Tanzania 2010 Sewn Closed Sources: ICF Macro, Demographic and Health Surveys; UNICEF, Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys. © 2012 Population Reference Bureau. All rights reserved. www. prb. org

Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting by Traditional and Nontraditional Practitioners Percent 99 95 94 89 95 89 99 97 92 78 74 66 32 20 10 20 08 ia C Ta nz an er ia N ig er ig 0 20 20 06 6 N al M 20 ya i 2 08 00 -0 9 05 1 K en ui G Er itr ne ea a 20 20 02 00 8 t 2 yp Eg re oi d' Iv ot e am C 9 3 1 06 20 04 d ha C n oo er 1 20 20 in en 3 4 06 1 B 10 4 Traditional practitioner Doctor/nurse/trained midwife Note: Data for Egypt and Tanzania refer to daughters’ experience. Sources: ICF Macro, Demographic and Health Surveys; UNICEF, Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys. © 2012 Population Reference Bureau. All rights reserved. www. prb. org

Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting, by Education Prevalence Among Women by Level of Education Percent 97 77 81 80 71 90 85 86 84 81 71 64 54 52 50 54 35 31 31 21 21 15 28 26 19 24 20 20 17 3 Chad 2004 Côte d'Ivoire 2006 Ethiopia 2005 Gambia 2005 -06 Guinea-Bissau. Kenya 2006 2008 -09 Mali 2006 Senegal 2010 -11 Sierra Leone 2006 Tanzania 2010 None Primary Secondary + Sources: ICF Macro, Demographic and Health Surveys; UNICEF, Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys. © 2012 Population Reference Bureau. All rights reserved. www. prb. org

Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting, by Wealth Prevalence by Wealth Quintile Percent 9595 9897 94 86 85 78 737571 82 86 85 75 64 55 42 37 25 29 23 1517 46 40 21 15 26 20 e on ra er Si G ui Le M a. B ne am G 06 6 i 2 al u sa is a bi 00 6 20 0 -0 6 05 20 ia op hi Et yp Eg 20 t 2 00 8 -0 5 nz Ta en an ya ia 20 20 08 04 -0 9 06 K C ôt e d' Iv C oi ha d re 20 20 04 6 20 0 in en 05 8 5 B 24 16 Poorest Fifth Middle Fifth Richest Fifth Sources: ORC Macro, Demographic and Health Surveys; UNICEF, Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys. © 2012 Population Reference Bureau. All rights reserved. www. prb. org

Trends in Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting Prevalence Percent of women ages 15 -49, by survey year 97 91 94 85 80 74 45 45 45 36 38 27 2000 2008 Egypt 1995 - 2006 96 Mali 2000 2005 Ethiopia 2000 2004 Chad 1998 - 2006 99 Cote d’Ivoire 1999 200809 Kenya Sources: ICF Macro, Demographic and Health Surveys; UNICEF, Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys. © 2012 Population Reference Bureau. All rights reserved. www. prb. org

Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting, Attitudes Women and Men Who Have Heard of the Practice and Believe It Should be Discontinued Percent 93 95 89 84 85 86 62 64 49 36 41 35 27 18 Benin 2006 Women Cameroon 2004 Chad 2004 Egypt 2008 Guinea 2005 16 21 Mali 2006 Nigeria 2008 Men Sources: ICF Macro, Demographic and Health Surveys; UNICEF, Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys. © 2012 Population Reference Bureau. All rights reserved. www. prb. org

Legal Status of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting, by Country Laws that specifically prohibit the practice: No specific laws, but some provisions*: No Laws: Benin Burkina Faso Central African Rep. Cote d’Ivoire Djibouti Egypt Eritrea Ethiopia Ghana Guinea-Bissau Kenya Mauritania Niger Senegal Tanzania Togo Uganda Cameroon Chad Mali Sudan (North) Gambia Liberia Nigeria Sierra Leone Somalia Yemen *Existing provisions of criminal codes have been or can be applied to FGM/C Sources: Center for Reproductive Rights, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM); Legal Prohibitions Worldwide; Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices, International, Regional and Legal Instruments for the Protection of Women and Girls Against FGM/C; Inter. Parliamentary Union, Legislation and Other National Provisions; Women’s United Nations Report Network, FGM Legislation for 25 African Countries – Female Genital Mutilation. © 2012 Population Reference Bureau. All rights reserved. www. prb. org