Database of FGM/C Programmes

This web-enabled database management system provides information and shares a mapping of recently completed and ongoing interventions and research studies used to address female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) since the year 2000. This global platform provides a comprehensive and easily-accessible listing of FGM/C programmes that may be used by interested individuals and organizations for cross-learning and knowledge sharing purposes.

This online database is managed by Evidence to End FGM/C: Research to Help Girls and Women Thrive, a programme that conducts research to inform and influence investments, policies, and programmes for ending FGM/C in different contexts. Seven countries in Africa are the focus of primary research: Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, and Sudan. The website is continuously being updated to reflect new activities. Please contact the Evidence to End FGM/C project to share new and/or ongoing FGM/C intervention programmes and research studies. The project and this webpage are made possible by the generous support of the UK Government under the terms of the FGM/C Research Programme No. 6337.

Who We Are & What We Do

A Population Council-led research programme, Evidence to End FGM/C: Research to Help Girls and Women Thrive, generates quality evidence to inform and influence investments, policies, and programs for ending FGM/C in different contexts

The Issue

Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) describes a range of harmful practices involving cutting, removing, and sometimes sewing up external female genitalia for nonmedical reasons. UNICEF estimates that at least 200 million girls and women in the 30 countries where the practice is most prevalent have undergone FGM/C and that as many as 30 million girls under the age of 15 are at risk. While considered a social norm in many cultures, FGM/C is a violation of the rights of girls and women and has no health benefits. It can cause immediate and lifelong physical, psychological, and sexual trauma, as well as difficulties during childbirth. FGM/C reflects deep-rooted gender-based inequalities, constitutes extreme discrimination and violence against girls and women, and is considered a criminal act in many countries.

However, existing gaps in the evidence base hinder identification of the best strategies for ending FGM/C including

• Lack of contextually specific knowledge of the drivers and consequences of FGM/C, making generalization difficult;
• Limited and poor-quality monitoring and evaluation of FGM/C interventions;
  
• Data with poor validity, because of limited methodological development;
• Lack of theory-based intervention and evaluation designs; and
• Fragmented documentation of research uptake and use for meaningful policy and program changes.

Resolutions by the UN Commission on the Status of Women in 2010, the African Union and European Union in 2011–12, and most importantly the 2012 UN General Assembly have all called for intensified global efforts to end FGM/C within one generation.

The Progress

The UK Department for International Development (DFID) has generously funded the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on FGM/C: Accelerating Change, the Girl Generation, and Population Council’s research programme, Evidence to End FGM/C: Research to Help Girls and Women Thrive. These three organizations comprise the larger campaign to End FGM/C within one generation.

The Council’s research seeks to produce a global evidence base on the most effective and cost-effective approaches to ending FGM/C in different contexts and inform policy, programming, and strategic investments for its abandonment. Seven countries in Africa are the focus of primary research: Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia and Sudan.

The research programme is guided by a theory of change, to help infer its effects on policy, investment, and improved programming for ending FGM/C, through four main elements:

1. Continuous stakeholder engagement encouraging their evidence-informed decision-making;
2. Generation of high quality evidence in accordance with stakeholders’ evidence priorities, and with scientific credibility;
3. Communication of high quality policy and programme relevant evidence to intended audiences through multiple mechanisms and products;
4. Capacity strengthening for researchers and stakeholders to identify, produce, communicate and use evidence on FGM/C.

The Consortium

The Evidence to End FGM/C research programme is implemented by a consortium led by the Population Council. Consortium partners include: the Africa Coordinating Centre for the Abandonment of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (ACCAF) at the University of Nairobi; the Global Research and Advocacy Group (GRAG), Dakar; Population Reference Bureau (PRB); MannionDaniels Ltd.; and the INDEPTH Network. Two eminent researchers, Dr. Gerry Mackie of the University of California, San Diego, and Dr. Bettina Shell-Duncan of the University of Washington, Seattle, complete the team.

The research consortium has categorised its evidence and policy questions in four broad themes:

1. Theme 1: Building the picture: where, when and why is FGM/C practiced, and are these changing?
2. Theme 2: Abandonment interventions - What is working, where, and why?
3. Theme 3: What are the wider impacts of FGM/C?
4. Theme 4: Measurement – what are valid measures of change?

The Impact

Evidence to End FGM/C began in March 2015 and will conduct its research for five years. By the end of the five-year period, the project will deliver:

• A robust body of knowledge and evidence that is widely available to key stakeholders, thereby leading to more effective FGM/C investments, policies and programmes.
• A vibrant South-North consortium, managed in and working throughout sub-Saharan Africa, which has the capacity to engage with national, regional and global stakeholders to identify and respond to their evidence needs, functions with maximum value for money, and is sustainable beyond this project.
• Quality studies delivered on schedule and within budget through effective quality assurance and performance management mechanisms. Research methods will have been tailored to answer questions and, wherever possible, multi-site studies with comparative designs will have been implemented, including both retrospective and prospective assessments.