Understanding Community Voices in Europe
In Europe, the issue of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) has only recently entered the public sphere. Some European governments and donors in the European Union only started acknowledging its relevance in Europe more prominently over the last decade. The Council of Europe’s Convention on preventing and combating violence against women, otherwise known as the Istanbul Convention, which entered into force in August 2014, is the first treaty to acknowledge the existence of FGM in Europe and the need for it to be addressed by member states systematically. However, this official recognition of FGM would not have been possible without grassroots efforts from FGM-affected communities. Indeed, without their expertise and dedication, the European efforts to end FGM would cease to exist.
This project seeks to showcase and elevate the work of activists and community-based organisations engaged in the prevention of FGM across Europe. It will highlight their efforts to influence policy and legislation, shift social norms, and challenge stigma. In parallel, the project will work to identify key needs and obstacles in their activism and draft strategies to strengthen and support their work.
The project goals:
Through interviews with six activists from France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, which have the highest numbers of FGM-affected populations in Europe. In this framework the the project aims at:
- Identifying
- Supporting
- Strengthening
the work of community voices in partnership with our members, across Europe.
Through the interviews the challenges faced by grassroots activists in their daily work will be identified. The interviews will also provide a platform for activists to share their stories and amplify their voices at the European level. This will support the recognition of community-led work as a key driver of social change.
Finally, the conversations will provide a strong base to draft recommendations to address activists’ identified needs. In doing so, the project will ensure that community voices remain at the heart of the European movement to end FGM, linking local activists with policy and advocacy at the EU level.
Read the report here!
The activists:
By centring the expertise of those most directly engaged in prevention, the project underscores that the movement to end FGM in Europe is, at its core, community-driven. Without the vision, resilience, and leadership of grassroots activists, Europe’s progress on eliminating FGM would not be possible.
Haja Bilkisu Conteh
Country of origin: Sierra Leone
Country of residence: Germany
Check her profile and her story!