FGM and health care services

FGM PRESENTS CHALLENGES TO HEALTH CARE SERVICES IN EUROPE

EU Member States should respect the right to health of women living with FGM and provide health services that are available, accessible, acceptable and of good quality. A lack of awareness of FGM amongst health professionals can lead to emergency caesarean sections that pose an unnecessary risk and are costly in financial terms. A general sensitisation to FGM is also important for all gynaecological examinations as they could be very painful and also stigmatising for women and girls living with FGM.

Health protocols on reinfibulation (re-stitching of the vagina) are necessary as there is evidence of medical professionals practising reinfibulation in European countries following deliveries, likely due to a lack of standardised procedures and medical guidelines. Reinfibulation in most states’ legislation constitutes a form of FGM and is therefore illegal. Guidelines should also address the medicalisation of FGM (when the practice is carried out by medical professionals in hospital settings), an increasing trend condemned by the WHO.

Furthermore, the current framework in place to give refugees and other migrants’ entitlements to health care within the EU may not adequately address social barriers that hinder marginalised groups from accessing vital health services. These social barriers include language, lack of competent interpreters, different ways of understanding and viewing illness and also lack of awareness of health care services that are available.

WHAT CAN THE EU DO?

While the provision of health care is a domestic issue for Member States, the EU can coordinate and compliment the work of the Member States by facilitating the exchange of information and best practices, initiate development of health protocols and curricula and fund feasibility studies and research projects that contribute to the pool of knowledge in the EU.

The END FGM-European Campaign urges the EU institutions to take concrete steps to support the goal to reduce health inequalities affecting women and girls living with FGM, and therefore request the following from the Executive Agency for Health and Consumers (EAHC)

• to launch tenders and commission the design and delivery of targeted training modules for health care professionals that can also be included in the curricula for the education of midwives, gynaecologists and other relevant health care professionals. It should further support holistic projects that aim to give psychological and medical support together with information on rights and legal remedies available to women and girls living with FGM
• to encourage the exploration of health or cultural mediator projects to promote access to health care and health literacy among communities affected by the FGM practice. These projects should be developed in collaboration with health care services, community representatives, representatives of women and girls living with FGM, and national asylum and immigration authorities

The campaign urges the EU institutions to request the following from the Social Protection Committee (SPC)

• to promote the exchange of information and best practices addressing FGM among EU Member States representatives from the health and social services sectors

The campaign urges the EU institutions to use the Open Method of Coordination (OMC)

• to develop indicators relevant for women and girls living with FGM to assess, monitor and evaluate their access to health care services and the availability of acceptable and good quality health care. Also to promote cooperation between EU Member States to develop targeted policies, guidelines and initiatives that can improve the quality of life and health of women and girls living with FGM.