Slow progress

230 million girls are victims of female genital mutilation

Half of the progress made in the last 30 years in relation to FGM has been achieved within the last decade.(Bild: Riccardo Mayer, stock.adobe.com (Symbolbild))

New estimates show that the total number of survivors of female genital mutilation has increased by 15 percent (30 million girls and women) compared to 2016.

According to a new UNICEF report, over 230 million girls and women alive today have undergone female genital mutilation (FGM).

"Procedure" often performed before the age of 5
"Female genital mutilation harms girls' bodies, dims their future prospects and endangers their lives," said Executive Director Catherine Russell in New York. "We are also seeing a worrying trend of more girls being subjected to the practice at a younger age, many even before their fifth birthday. As a result, the window of opportunity to intervene is getting shorter."

Half of the progress made on FGM in the last 30 years has been achieved in the last decade.(Bild: Riccardo Mayer, stock.adobe.com (Symbolbild))

Most mutilations carried out in Africa
Most of the girls and women affected (144 million) live in African countries, followed by 80 million in Asia and six million in the Middle East. Cases also occur in small practicing communities and immigrant countries in other parts of the world. The analysis also points out that four out of ten FGM survivors live in unstable and conflict-affected areas, where population growth is also rapid.

The estimates released today on International Women's Day show that progress in ending female genital mutilation remains slow and lags behind population growth-especially in the regions where the practice is most prevalent. To end female genital mutilation by 2030, as envisioned in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the global decline would need to be 27 times faster, according to the UNICEF report.

Progress in Kenya and Sierra Leone
In Kenya, for example, the prevalence of female genital mutilation has fallen from "moderate" to "low"; in Sierra Leone, there has been a decline from "high" to "moderately high" prevalence. Even in Egypt, where 30 years ago almost every girl underwent FGM, the practice is beginning to decline.