Prevalence in Europe

To date, there is no data collection which would allow for comparison and a European wide vision of the exact extent of the practice of FGM in Europe or of the number of women and girls living in Europe at risk of FGM. However, in some EU countries like Belgium, Germany, France, and Italy, estimates of women living with FGM or girls at risk of FGM have been published; these are based on anecdotal evidence, are underestimated and meet several critical problems.

• A recent study by FORWARD in the UK suggests that over 20,000 girls under the age of 15 are potentially at risk in England and Wales, and that nearly 66,000 women with FGM were living in England and Wales in 2001. The study concludes that these numbers are likely to have increased since then.
• In France, the number of women with FGM was estimated at 50,000 women in 2004.

According to a resolution passed by the European Parliament in March 2009 on Combating FGM in the EU around 500,000 women and girls living in Europe have been subjected to female genital mutilation.

Determining the magnitude of the problem in the EU is needed to measure change in behaviour, to monitor any increase or decrease in the number of women with FGM and girls at risk and to underscore the claims for policies and resources.

WHAT CAN THE EU DO?

The END FGM-European Campaign urges the EU institutions (the Commission, the Council and the Parliament) in accordance with the 2009 European Parliament resolution on FGM, to request the following from European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights:

• Include FGM in the identification of indicators for service providers as relevant to women and children’s rights. Explore practices and measures that aim to improve access to health care for female asylum seekers living with FGM.  Finally, when analysing good practices relating to equal access to justice, the FRA could undertake an assessment of legal remedies available to protect women and girls who are at risk of being subjected to FGM.

The campaign urges the EU institutions in accordance with the 2009 European Parliament resolution on FGM, to request the following from European Institute for Gender Equality:

• In line with the objective and tasks as outlined in the Regulation establishing the Institute, it should develop and establish human rights based methodological tools that can be used for an EU wide approach to quantitative and qualitative data collection on FGM. This should be done in close collaboration with civil society organisations, community representatives, women and girls directly affected by FGM, experienced sociologists and ethnologists.

The campaign urges the EU institutions to request the following from Eurostat:

To coordinate and support the development of national surveys to assess FGM prevalence in the EU. These surveys should be developed in close collaboration with all stakeholders to take into account the national context.

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• Read the study carried out by FORWARD UK on the prevalence of FGM in England and Wales.

• Read the research paper on FGM in France published by the Journal Population & Sociétés.