FGM as a Global issue

Our position

FGM is a global issue and we believe building bridges between different regions is essential to ending the harmful practice.

FGM is a global issue that needs a global response. Official United Nations' figures highlight that FGM affects at least 200 million women and girls in 31 countries worldwide. However, we know that FGM is happening in at least 92 countries in all continents except Antarctica, with the true number of women and girls affected by FGM being woefully underestimated.

We urge the international community to push to scale up efforts and investments, to ensure:

Effective work towards the abandonment of FGM;
The provision of adequate services for women and girls affected.

This should happen in development contexts as well as in humanitarian and fragile settings.

What is the current status?

European Union (EU)

The main guiding policy framework to tackle FGM for the European Union both internally and externally is the EU Communication on the elimination of Female Genital Mutilation.

The European Union has an important economic and political leverage to influence countries with high FGM prevalence to:

Put in place laws, policies and programmes to end FGM;
Support Survivors.

This is carried out through EU Delegations in third countries through political, development, trade and humanitarian work.

United Nations (UN)

Every two years, the UN reviews the global progress for eliminating FGM and adopts new commitments.

Moreover, all 193 countries members of the UN have made political commitments on gender equality and elimination of Female Genital Mutilation, through various international agreements, with the most recent being the Agenda 2030, particularly Sustainable Development Goal 5.3.