The European Commission has adopted a new framework for Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment: Transforming the Lives of Girls and Women through EU External Relations for 2016-2020. Its aim is to support partner countries, especially in developing, enlargement and neighbouring countries, to achieve tangible results towards gender equality which is at the core of European values, as well as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

It recognises that harmful practices such as FGM continue to exist and states that efforts to engage more effectively across Commission services and the EEAS in implementing EU gender equality objectives for policy coherence, particularly on issues such as FGM, will continue. One of the objectives for 2016-2020 is to prevent, and respond to, all forms of violence against girls and women, and the number of girls and women aged 15-49 years who have undergone FGM is set as an indicator.