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.
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
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
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 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:
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:
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:
This is an output from a programme funded by the UK Aid from the UK government for the benefit of developing countries. However, the views expressed and information contained in it are not necessarily those of, or endorsed by the UK government, which can accept no responsibility for such views or information or for any reliance placed on them.