Overview

A review of what is known about the practice of female genital mutilation, its prevalence, its short- and long-term consequences for physical and mental health, and the social factors that encourage its perpetuation. Past and present policies aimed at ending the practice are also reviewed. The book contains seven chapters. The first provides an historical review of various classifications of female genital mutilation, including those adopted by WHO and other international agencies. Chapter Two, on prevalence and epidemiology, summarizes what is known about the global prevalence of this practice and profiles the situation in each of 28 countries, and in refugee and immigrant populations in Australia, Europe, North America, and Israel. Chapter Three provides an account of the many complications linked to the different types of female genital mutilation. Research is assessed in the next chapter, which identifies several important gaps in current knowledge. Chapter Five describes international, regional and national legal instruments which relate to female genital mutilation. The remaining chapters summarize WHO activities, and set out a number of conclusions that should prove useful in guiding the actions of activists, international agencies, and nongovernmental organizations committed to ending this brutal and humiliating practice.

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9789241561914

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