What Is Genital Cutting?

Female genital mutilation includes all procedures that deliberately harm or alter the female reproductive organs for non-medical reasons. For girls and women, this cutting procedure has no health benefits. Female genital mutilation procedures can cause severe bleeding and urinary problems, and in the future cause potential birth complications and neonatal deaths. It is estimated that between 100 and 140 million girls and women worldwide are suffering the consequences of female genital mutilation. Female genital mutilation is most often performed on girls at some point between infancy and 15 years of age. In Africa, an estimated 92.5 million girls and women aged 10 and over have been subjected to female genital mutilation. Female genital mutilation is considered internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and women.

Female genital mutilation

Female genital mutilation procedures are mostly performed on girls at infancy to 15 years of age, and sometimes also in adult women. Approximately 3 million women are in Africa each year

In 1997,

In 2008, the World Health Assembly passed a resolution (WHA61.16) on the elimination of female genital mutilation, emphasizing the need for concerted action in all sectors of health, education, finance, justice and women's affairs.

WHO's efforts to eliminate female genital mutilation focus on:

Advocacy: develop publications and advocacy tools for international, regional and local efforts to stop female genital mutilation within a generation;

Research: Develop knowledge about the causes and consequences of this behavior, how to eliminate it, and how to provide health care to those who have had female genital mutilation;

Health System Guidance: Develop training materials and guidelines for health professionals to help them provide treatment and counselling to women who have performed female genital mutilation procedures.

WHO pays special attention to the growing trend of female genital mutilation by medically trained personnel. WHO strongly urges health professionals not to participate in such procedures.