Slow progress: 230 million girls are victims of genital mutilation

More than 230 million girls and women alive today are victims of female genital mutilation (FGM), according to a new UNICEF report.

“Intervention” often before the 5th birthday
“Female genital mutilation harms girls’ bodies, affects their future prospects and endangers their lives,” said Executive Director Catherine Russell in New York. “We are also seeing a worrying trend of more girls being exposed to this practice at a younger age, many before their fifth birthday. This shortens the time frame for intervention.”

Most mutilations are carried out in Africa
The most affected girls and women (144 million) live in African countries, followed by 80 million in Asia and six million in the Middle East. Cases also occur in small practicing communities and immigration countries in other parts of the world. The analysis also indicates that four in ten FGM survivors live in unstable and conflict-affected areas where population growth is also rapid.

Estimates released today on International Women’s Day show that progress in ending female genital mutilation remains slow and lags behind population growth, especially in regions where the practice is most prevalent. To end female genital mutilation by 2030, as targeted by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the global decline would need to be 27 times faster, the UNICEF report said.

Progress in Kenya and Sierra Leone
In Kenya, for example, the prevalence of female genital mutilation has fallen from ‘moderate’ to ‘low’; in Sierra Leone there is a decrease from “high” to “moderately high” prevalence. Even in Egypt, where almost every girl was subjected to genital mutilation thirty years ago, the practice is starting to decline.