The P-ACT project aims to contribute to strengthening the prevention and fight against this form of gender violence
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a procedure which consists in the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia in pubescent or pre-pubertal girls, based on social, sanitary, hygienic and ritual needs which differ among the various populations.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified FGM into four main types:
Type 1: partial or complete removal of the clitoris and/or its foreskin;
Type 2: partial or complete removal of the clitoris and labia minora, with or without removal of the labia majora (excision);
Type 3: infibulation, which involves narrowing of the vaginal opening, with or without removal of the clitoris;
Type 4: All other harmful procedures undertaken for non-medical reasons such as puncture, puncture, incision, curettage and cauterization.
Immediate disorders such as pain, edema, hemorrhages can be followed by long-term effects that alter the functioning of the urinary system, the physiological progression of childbirth, prevent normal sexual intercourse and have serious psychological consequences on the victims.
It is estimated that every year 3 million minors are at risk of being subjected to this real torture.
In our country, a 2019 survey (Milan-Bicocca University) found that, in January 2018, 87,600 women had been subjected to this practice (7,600 minors), with a further 4,600 considered at risk.
Another survey by EIGE (European Institute for Gender Equality) estimated that in Italy, out of just over 76,000 young people between 0 and 18 years old, 15-24% are at risk of FGM.
The highest rates among girls and women aged 15 to 49 were found in Somalia (98%), Guinea (96%), Djibouti (93%) and Egypt (91%), although in some countries like Kenya, Burkina Faso and Ethiopia the phenomenon appears to be decreasing. In other countries, such as Uganda and Cameroon, quite rare, affecting only 1% of women and girls.
On a legislative level, Italy has equipped itself with an instrument, Law no. 7/2006 (Provisions concerning the prevention and prohibition of FGM practices), but its implementation, so far, has been very poor.
For this reason, AMREF, in collaboration with the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (FAMI), launched the P-ACT project, with the aim of contributing to strengthening the prevention and fight against this form of gender violence through actions of training, interaction with the communities involved, awareness raising and dissemination of knowledge of the phenomenon, especially among those health workers who have frequent and close contact with families, establishing intimate relationships with them and are, therefore, among those who can most easily intercept situations of risk and work to prevent them.
* Professor of General and Specialist Paediatrics – Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart
UOSD Director of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Department of Women’s and Children’s Health Sciences and Public Health, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Gemelli IRCCS
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February 6, 2024 (modified February 6, 2024 | 5:56 pm)
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