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Subject: FGM - Dynamics of Social Change to Abandon FGM - Africa Research
WUNRN
New Report Offers Breakthrough to
Ending Female Genital Mutilation - FGM
The Dynamics of
Social Change: Towards the Abandonment of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting in
Five African Countries
The
Dynamics of Social Change: Towards the Abandonment of Female Genital
Mutilation/Cutting in Five African Countries – from UNICEF’s Innocenti Research
Centre – provides solutions and examples of communities ending the practice.
The report examines what conditions are necessary for a consensus to abandon
FGM/C and identifies strategies for sustainable abandonment. See a short
documentary at www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsdeI5JkbEo
The
report is also a reminder that changing behavioural practices (social norms) -
which may have endured for centuries - is a complex process that takes time.
The Dynamics of Social Change finds that the most effective abandonment
initiatives frame the discussion surrounding FGM/C in a non-threatening way;
reinforce the positive aspects of local culture; and build community trust by
implementing development projects that address local needs. This demonstrates
that new ideas come with good intentions and with the goal of improving their
lives. Successful abandonment programmes involve respected community members,
including religious and local leaders, and engage social networks and
institutions. They use legislative reform, national policies and the media to
enable and support the process.
“A
family’s decision to practice or abandon FGM/C is influenced by powerful social
rewards and sanctions,” said Gordon Alexander, Director a.i. of the Innocenti
Research Centre. “Understanding the diverse social dynamics that perpetuate
FGM/C is changing the way in which abandonment is approached. There is no one
answer, no one way, and no quick fix. But there is progress. These efforts need
to be scaled up to bring change in the lives of girls, now.”
The
Innocenti Research Centre report (with data at the foot of this PR) examines a
number of promising strategies that are supporting communities in Egypt,
Ethiopia, Kenya, Senegal and the Sudan to abandon FGM/C.
Millions
of girls worldwide are cut or mutilated each year. The practice, a serious
violation of their human rights, can cause severe, lifelong health problems
including bleeding, problems urinating, childbirth complications and newborn
deaths.
And
yet, in communities where it is practised, FGM/C is not viewed as a harmful act
but as a necessary step to raise a girl and, in many cases, to make her
eligible for marriage. Failure to carry out or undergo FGM/C can lead to social
exclusion and disapproval not only of the girl but of the entire family.
Religion,
tradition and culture are also often cited by families as reasons for cutting
their daughters. Many communities, for example, believe that FGM/C is mandated
by religious doctrine, despite the fact that no major religion requires it. The
report reveals that one of the key factors that motivate parents’ decision to
have their girls cut – ‘to do what is best for their daughters’ – may also spur
a decision to stop the practice, once social norms evolve and social
expectations change.
“The
report is an important contribution to our collective understanding of how
widespread and sustainable change can be made in communities,” said Mr.
Alexander. “It also has enormous implications for how we address both
FGM/C and other harmful practices and forms of violence against girls and
women, such as forced and child marriage that are influenced by similar social dynamics.”
Despite
the progress that has been made in intervention communities – particularly in
Senegal – national FGM/C prevalence rates still remain high in Egypt, Ethiopia
and the Sudan. There has, however, been a significant change in attitudes about
FGM/C in all three countries, indicating that individuals are questioning the
merits of these practices and would prefer, circumstances permitting, not to
have their daughters, wives, sisters and cousins undergo FGM/C.
Estimates
on how many girls and women worldwide have been cut vary from 70 million to 140
million. In Africa, an estimated three million girls and women are at
risk for FGM/C each year. The practice is also found in some countries Asia and
the Middle East, and to a lesser extent within some immigrant communities in
Europe, and in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States of America.
See
more
www.unicef-irc.org and twitter.com/UNICEFInnocenti
Some
figures: FGM/C prevalence and attitudes*
* Data from the
Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) in Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Senegal. Data
for Sudan from the Sudan 1989-90 DHS and 2006 Sudan Household Health Survey.
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