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Objectives. In 1996, the U.S. Congress passed legislation making female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) illegal in the United States. CDC published the first estimates of the number of women and girls at risk for FGM/C in 1997. Since 2012, various constituencies have again raised concerns about the practice in the United States. We updated an earlier estimate of the number of women and girls in the United States who were at risk for FGM/C or its consequences. Methods. We estimated the number of women and girls who were at risk for undergoing FGM/C or its consequences in 2012 by applying country-specific prevalence of FGM/C to the estimated number of women and girls living in the United States who were born in that country or who lived with a parent born in that country. Results. Approximately 513,000 women and girls in the United States were at risk for FGM/C or its consequences in 2012, which was more than three times higher than the earlier estimate, based on 1990 data. The increase in the number of women and girls younger than 18 years of age at risk for FGM/C was more than four times that of previous estimates. Conclusion. The estimated increase was wholly a result of rapid growth in the number of immigrants from FGM/C-practicing countries living in the United States and not from increases in FGM/C prevalence in those countries. Scientifically valid information regarding whether women or their daughters have actually undergone FGM/C and related information that can contribute to efforts to prevent the practice in the United States and provide needed health services to women who have undergone FGM/C are needed.

The spectrum of practices termed \"Female Genital Mutilation\" (or FGM) by the World Health Organization is sometimes held up as a counterexample to moral relativism. Those who advance this line of thought suggest the practices are so harmful in terms of their physical and emotional consequences, as well as so problematic in terms of their sexist or oppressive implications, that they provide sufficient, rational grounds for the assertion of a universal moral claim--namely, that all forms of FGM are wrong, regardless of the cultural context. However, others point to cultural bias and moral double standards on the part of those who espouse this argument, and have begun to question the received interpretation of the relevant empirical data on FGM as well. In this article I assess the merits of these competing perspectives. I argue that each of them involves valid moral concerns that should be taken seriously in order to move the discussion forward. In doing so, I draw on the biomedical \"enhancement\" literature in order to develop a novel ethical framework for evaluating FGM (and related interventions--such as female genital \"cosmetic\" surgery and nontherapeutic male circumcision) that takes into account the genuine harms that are at stake in these procedures, but which does not suffer from being based on cultural or moral double standards.

Entertaining movies addressing both individual values and marriageability can provide a way to change cultural attitudes towards female genital cutting within certain cultures. Attitudes towards female genital cutting As the world starts to feel smaller and globalization pulls those with different cultural attitudes together, navigating the inevitable social and cultural conflicts that result will increase in importance. One such contentious and controversial cultural practice is female genital cutting. Ernst Fehr and colleagues used control and treatment movies to educate societies in which cutting occurs and measured implicit attitudes towards cutting in a randomized experiment. These treatment movies raised awareness and changed attitudes towards cutting in a positive manner as compared to controls, with a modest persistent effect. Highlighting discordant views within a specific society on culturally controversial practices may allow for cultural change. As globalization brings people with incompatible attitudes into contact, cultural conflicts inevitably arise. Little is known about how to mitigate conflict and about how the conflicts that occur can shape the cultural evolution of the groups involved. Female genital cutting is a prominent example 1 , 2 , 3 . Governments and international agencies have promoted the abandonment of cutting for decades, but the practice remains widespread with associated health risks for millions of girls and women 4 , 5 . In their efforts to end cutting, international agents have often adopted the view that cutting is locally pervasive and entrenched 1 . This implies the need to introduce values and expectations from outside the local culture. Members of the target society may view such interventions as unwelcome intrusions 1 , 2 , 3 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , and campaigns promoting abandonment have sometimes led to backlash 1 , 7 , 8 , 10 , 11 as they struggle to reconcile cultural tolerance with the conviction that cutting violates universal human rights 1 , 9 . Cutting, however, is not necessarily locally pervasive and entrenched 1 , 3 , 12 . We designed experiments on cultural change that exploited the existence of conflicting attitudes within cutting societies. We produced four entertaining movies that served as experimental treatments in two experiments in Sudan, and we developed an implicit association test to unobtrusively measure attitudes about cutting. The movies depart from the view that cutting is locally pervasive by dramatizing members of an extended family as they confront each other with divergent views about whether the family should continue cutting. The movies significantly improved attitudes towards girls who remain uncut, with one in particular having a relatively persistent effect. These results show that using entertainment to dramatize locally discordant views can provide a basis for applied cultural evolution without accentuating intercultural divisions.

Introduction The morbidity and mortality associated with Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) have been clearly documented. Controlling and eventually eradication this practice is very important. Despite a loud call from the WHO and other international organisations, there are extensive nationalities and societies from both developed and developing countries still practising FGM. Understanding the current magnitude and associated factors in Tanzania may bring more light for possible interventions intended to control FGM. This study is timely for this aim. Objective To determine the prevalence of female genital mutilation and its associated factors among adolescent girls and young women in Tanzania. Methods Secondary data analysis was conducted on data from the 2022 Tanzanian Demographic and Health Survey. The weighted sample included in this study was 2965 adolescent girls and young women aged 15–24 years. Data analysis was performed using Stata 18.0 software. The strength of the association was assessed using the adjusted odds ratio (aOR) along with its corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI). Results The overall prevalence of FGM among adolescent girls and young women in Tanzania was 4.9% (95% CI = 3.37, 6.97). The prevalence varied significantly across the zones, ranging from < 1% in both Zanzibar and Southern zones to 19.7% in the Northern zone. Moreover, the results revealed that factors associated with FGM were rural areas (aOR = 2.09, 95% CI = 1.80, 5.44); no education (aOR = 11.59, 95% CI = 4.97, 27.03); poor (aOR = 2.41, 95% CI = 1.20, 4.83); unskilled manuals (aOR = 3.76, 95% CI = 1.97, 7.15); continued FGM (aOR = 3.86, 95% CI = 1.62, 9.18); FGM required by religion (aOR = 8.5, 95% CI = 3.15, 22.96) and watching television at least once a week (aOR = 0.20, 95% CI = 0.70, 1.56) among adolescents and young women in Tanzania. Conclusion Female genital mutilation among adolescent girls and young women aged 15–24 years in Tanzania has decreased slightly between 2015/16 and 2022 from 5.9% to 4.9% respectively. This was mostly associated with education level, place of residence, occupation, wealth index, mass media exposure, attitudes towards FGM. More tailored programs focusing on high prevalence zones targeting adolescent girls and young women are needed to end female genital mutilation by 2030.

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a form of gender-based violence (GBV) that may lead to adverse consequences on the physical and psychological health of survivors. Patients living with FGM have unique health needs, which have to be addressed from the perspective of human rights and sexual and reproductive health. The aim of this study was to understand the characteristics of the pool of users of two services targeting this population in Turin, given the significance this may have due to the high migratory flows from countries were FGM is performed. A retrospective review of medical records of patients who accessed FGM-C related care in two healthcare facilities in Turin was performed. The most represented type of FGM was IIb. All patients were of African origin. Many presented psychological sequelae, while a smaller group presented uro-gynaecological symptoms. A high number of survivors were subjected to other forms of GBV during their lifetime. These findings highlight the need for an integrated and multidisciplinary service for the management of survivors of FGM. •Survivors of female genital mutilation have unique health needs.•Sexual and reproductive health and rights of survivors need to be addressed.•Health needs of survivors of female genital mutilation require a multidisciplinary management.

Background Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) is a harmful practice recognized as a gross violation of human rights and violence against women. Nigeria has been identified to share an overwhelming amount of burden as regards FGM/C. Despite several interventions having been implemented to tackle the practice of FGM/C, progress has been slow, and the results are generally mixed coupled with weak law enforcement, inadequate public awareness, and deeply rooted cultural beliefs. In response to these challenges, the StopCut project was launched to protect women and girls from FGM/C in Southwest Nigeria. This study examines the impact of the StopCut project on the practice of FGM/C in the region. Methods To measure the impact of the StopCut project, we used a quasi-experimental design specifically the Inverse Probability Weighting approach. A multistage sampling approach was used to collect data from 413 households across 12 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Nigeria. A well-structured interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect information on knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to FGM/C, and respondents’ attitudes towards reporting and continuing FGM/C. Results the study revealed that the StopCut project had significant positive impacts on knowledge and behaviour related to FGM/C. Specifically, the study revealed that participation in the project significantly increased knowledge of FGM/C consequences, awareness of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act, willingness to report FGM/C incidents, and reporting of FGM/C practices within families. Conclusion The findings indicate that the StopCut intervention effectively improved participants’ knowledge about FGM/C, legal frameworks, and reporting behaviour. The study thus highlights the need for a more comprehensive approach to challenging cultural beliefs and scaling up the interventions to other areas as well.