Finland: involving men in the fight against FGM

On December 3rd, Fatima Awil - Advocacy Officer of the End FGM European Network - spoke at a seminar that took place in Helsinki, Finland on ending FGM and the role of men and boys from the Somali community.

The event was both in Somali & Finnish. There were a number of speakers such as the Helsinki’s Deputy Mayor of Social and Health Services, who emphasised her commitment of ending FGM and the importance of working with affected communities. Abdirizak Mohamed from the Finnish League of Human Rights also presented the findings from the study he conducted on Somali men's attitudes concerning FGM in Finland. The event included a panel on the role of men in combatting FGM, with health professionals. During the panel, the challenges health professionals face were highlighted and the need for these professionals to receive training on how to address FGM in a culturally sensitive manner.

On day 2, Fatima gave a training to two Somali staff Suado and Abdirizak, from the Finnish League of Human Rights. Throughout the day, they focused on a number of topics such as: the importance of human rights, the human rights system, key International laws, as well as the role of organisations and grassroots in ensuring these laws are respected and implemented.