Female Genital Mutilation Research

A recent topic of interest at an international level is the issue of female genital mutilation and or cutting. Female genital mutilation refers to “piercing, cutting, removing, or sewing closed all or part of a girl’s or woman’s external genitals for no medical reason.” (WomensHealth 2015). FGM affects the health of girls and women in negative ways; it causes implications for the reproductive and sexual health, as well as mental health. FGM is a violation of human rights of girls and women. FGM violates principles of equality and non-discrimination as well as the right to freedom from “torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. FGM also violates a person’s right to the “highest attainable standard of health” (WomensHealth 2015) considering

Girls and women who are at a higher risk of undergoing FGM live in sub-Saharan Africa and Arab States, but FGM is unfortunately practiced in many countries, which is why the issue has become so global (UNFPA 2016). “FGM is mostly performed in northern and central Africa, in the southern Sahara, and in parts of the Middle East and Asia.” (WomensHealth 2015). Indonesia, Guinea, Somalia, Djibouti, Egypt, and Sierra Leone have high rates of girls and women who have been cut; around 90 to 100 percent have experienced FGM in these areas. Meanwhile Cameroon and Uganda have less than 2 percent who have been cut. In the United States, more than 513,000 girls and women have experienced FGM (WomensHealth

The Human Right Council created a resolution that encouraged global efforts of ending FGM as well as sharing good practices to eliminate FGM in 2014 (UNFPA 2016). And in 2015, FGM was included in the Sustainable Development Goals, “eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early, and forced marriage and female genital mutilation.” (UNFPA 2016). In 2016, UNICEF created a report showing the prevalence of FGM in 30 countries. The fight to ban FGM is still occurring today. Many of the United Nations human rights treaty monitoring bodies have addressed FGM in regards to States complying with their treaty