Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is FGM/C?

Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) is a procedure performed on a woman or girl to alter or injure her genitalia for non-medical reasons. It causes severe health problems and is a violation of girls’ and women’s fundamental human rights.

There are many names for this practice, including “female circumcision”, “female genital cutting”, “khatna”, “sunat”, “sunat perempuan”, “qodiin”, “fanadu”, “bolokoli”, “nyaaka”, “tohara”, and many other terms that are used in different local contexts and communities. 

The World Health Organization defines Female Genital Mutilation as all procedures that involve the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. 

The World Health Organization has identified four types of FGM: 

2. When does FGM/C happen?

It varies. Across the world, most girls are cut before they turn 15. In many communities, girls are cut before the age of 5. The cutting may happen as early as a couple of days after birth. In other areas, FGM/C takes place at the onset of puberty or at the time of marriage. It even happens during a woman's first pregnancy or after the birth of her first child. In some cases, women undergo FGM/C repeatedly. This happens to women who are re-infibulated each time after they give birth.

3. Why is FGM/C a risk for girls and women?

FGM/C has no health benefits. It does only harm.  Sometimes it results in immediate death. It  can also lead to long-term physical and psychological consequences. The practice of FGM/C can be life-threatening long after it happened. 

Physical complications include severe pain, prolonged bleeding and severe blood loss. It can lead to chronic infections and inflammations.  It can result in painful urination and menstruation.  It can lead to increased maternal and child mortality. It can result in infertility and increased risk of HIV transmission.

The psychological impacts of FGM/C can be significant too.  They range from a girl losing trust in her caregivers to post-traumatic stress and feelings of anxiety and depression.

FGM/C can also impact sexual sensitivity and can result in severe pain during intercourse.

4. Who performs FGM/C?

Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting is usually carried out by traditional excisers or circumcisers/cutters. In many communities the girl is cut with unsterilized instruments including knives, scissors, pieces of glass or razor blades. 

Increasingly, FGM/C is performed by medically trained staff.  This is called the medicalization of FGM/C. But whether FGM/C is performed by medical personnel or traditional cutters, it is still human rights abuse.  Medicalizing the practice does not make it safer.  It does not prevent long-term psychological and physical damage.  It still removes healthy tissue.  It still damages a girl’s body.   And it still causes tremendous physical and psychological harm.

5. Why does it happen?

Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting is primarily a method of sexual control.  It is practiced across different religions, ethnicities and races and across different social classes. 

It is a manifestation of deeply entrenched gender inequality. Where it is widely practiced, FGM/C is supported by both men and women, usually without question. Anyone who does not follow the social norm may face condemnation, harassment and ostracism. Uncut girls and women are often stigmatized, ridiculed and rejected as marriage partners. 

It may be difficult for families to abandon the practice without support from the wider community. In fact, it is often practiced even when it is understood that it inflicts harm on girls.  The perceived social benefits of the practice are deemed more important than its disadvantages.

The reasons given for practicing FGM/C fall generally into five categories:

1. Psychosexual reasons: FGM/C is carried out as a way to control women’s sexuality. Some people believe that women will be sexually insatiable if parts of the genitalia, especially the clitoris, are not removed. People think that FGM/C will ensure virginity before marriage and faithfulness during marriage. There is also a belief that FGM/C increases male sexual pleasure. 

2. Sociological and cultural reasons: FGM/C is seen as part of a girl’s rite of passage into womanhood and an intrinsic part of cultural heritage. Many communities believe that FGM/C will ensure a girl's future marriage and family honour. Sometimes myths about female genitalia help to perpetuate the practice.  For instance, some communities believe that an uncut clitoris will grow to the size of a penis, or that FGM will enhance fertility. 

3. Hygiene and aesthetic reasons: FGM/C is sometimes falsely thought to bring health benefits. In some communities, people consider the external female genitalia to be dirty and ugly.  They are removed in the belief that this promotes hygiene and aesthetic appeal. 

4. Religious reasons: Some associate Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting with religious beliefs and duties. But FGM/C is not mandated by any religious text.  It predates Islam, Christianity and Judaism.  Still, supposed religious doctrine is sometimes used to justify the practice. 

5. Socio-economic factors: In many communities, FGM is a prerequisite for marriage. Where women are largely dependent on men, economic necessity can be a major driver of the procedure. For example, in certain patriarchal societies where women are seen as the property of men, cut girls get a higher bride price.   It is a major income source for practitioners.

 The idea of medical benefits has been shared by some Western practitioners: In 19th century Europe FGM/C was a medical treatment for mental disorders, nervousness, hysteria and masturbation.  The practice was still endorsed by some physicians in the United States and Australia as late as the 1960s as a treatment for ‘excessive masturbation’, lesbian inclinations, and hypersexuality. There is evidence of the practice continuing until the 1980’s. 

6. Is it considered a Human Rights Violation?

Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting is internationally recognized as a human rights violation. FGM/C denies girls and women their right to health, security, and physical and emotional integrity.   It violates their right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.  It even violates their right to life, because it can result in death. Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting is an extreme form violence against women and girls and a manifestation of gender inequality.

There are several international conventions, declarations, and resolutions that call on countries to adopt laws and policies to end FGM/C. In the 1990s, recommendations were adopted within the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (1979), urging states to adopt measures to prohibit and eliminate FGM/C. Other important international conventions include:

• The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment (1990) which is now recognized as also addressing FGM/C

• The Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (1951) because those fleeing the threat of FGM/C qualify for refugee status

• The Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) that protects against all forms of mental and physical maltreatment. 

The Platform for Action of the Fourth World Conference on Women (1995) called for policies and programmes to eliminate FGM/C. The African Union adopted declarations on ending FGM/C.  So did the United Nations’ Status of Women and the Human Rights Council. In 2016, the UN General Assembly adopted the Girl Child Resolution that recognizes FGM/C as a form of violation of the rights of the child girl.

In 2015, the United Nations adopted the new Sustainable Development Goals. To promote gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls, the fifth goal is to eliminate all harmful practices by 2030. These practices include Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting and child and forced marriage.

7. Where does it happen?

Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting is a global issue. Girls are at risk of FGM/C on every continent except Antarctica. The exact number of girls and women who have undergone FGM/C is unknown.  But there are at least 230 million survivors globally. Each year, over 4 million girls are at risk of undergoing FGM/C. That’s 1 girl every 10 seconds. 

Significant progress has been made in efforts to end the practice.  In many countries young girls today are at lower risk of FGM/C than their mothers and grandmothers were. Still, progress is not universal or fast enough. 

In some countries, Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting remains as common today as it was decades ago.  In other communities, the practice is going underground and girls are being cut at younger ages and in secrecy. 

There is also new research that shows that FGM/C happens in far more countries than was previously known.

Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting is an issue in over 90 countries around the world. This is demonstrated in the latest report by Equality Now, the End FGM European Network, and the U.S. End FGM/C Network. 32 countries have nationally representative data on FGM/C. In another 60 countries the prevalence of FGM/C is documented through indirect estimates, small-scale studies, anecdotal evidence and media reports. 

In Africa, FGM/C is practiced among certain communities in 29 countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda and Zambia.

It’s also known to be happening among communities in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Philippines, Maldives.

In the Middle East, there is evidence of FGM/C in Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen, as well as Iraq, Iran and the State of Palestine.

In Eastern Europe, recent evidence shows that certain communities are practicing FGM in Georgia and the Russian Federation. 

In South America, certain communities are known to practice FGM in Ecuador, Colombia, Panama and Peru.

And in many western countries, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United States, the United Kingdom and various European countries, FGM happens among diaspora populations from areas where the practice is common.

Female Genital Mutilation/ Cutting is also prevalent in Canada. There are no official estimates of the number of survivors of FGM/C living in Canada or the number of girls at risk.   Canada has sizable populations of diaspora communities from countries where FGM/C is known to be practiced.  The End FGM Canada Network supported the report’s authors and summarized the information on FGM/C prevalence in Canada on pages 38 and 39 for the report. 

8. Is FGM/C really a Canadian issue?

Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting is an issue in Canada, too.  

Canada has sizable populations of diaspora communities from countries where FGM/C is known to be practiced. A 2023 report from Statistics Canada concludes that when looking at all ages of first-generation immigrant girls and women as well as second-generation girls and women aged 0-49, there are estimated to be between 95,000-161,000 girls and women in Canada who may either be living with the consequences of FGM/C or be at risk of experiencing FGM/C in the future.

The Canadian Border Services Agency has said  “it is almost certain” that FGM/C is also happening in Canada. Documents unearthed by journalists also show that  Canadian government officials believe that a few thousand girls are at risk  of FGM/C. There are numerous studies that have surveyed Canadian survivors of FGM/C. One is about  women from the Bohra community.  Another documents women with Somali-origin, survivors of FGM/C whose daughters were not cut.  Another shows  health concerns with women living with FGM/C in Canada.   

Criminal Code 

Since 1997, the Canadian Criminal Code prohibits Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting. Under the Canadian Criminal Code section 268(3), FGM/C is a form of “aggravated assault.” It is punishable with imprisonment for up to fourteen years. If FGM/C results in death, the punishment can be life imprisonment. Facilitating the practice of FGM is also punishable with up to five years imprisonment.  Parents failing to protect their children may also be punished with up to two years imprisonment. The law also prohibits bringing a girl abroad for the procedure for what’s known as ‘vacation cutting.’

This means that anyone in Canada who is involved in submitting a girl to the practice of FGM/C can be charged with a crime.

To date, there has never been a criminal prosecution on FGM/C in Canada.

Asylum Protection

In 1993, Canada became the first country in the world to officially recognize gender-based prosecution as a ground for asylum protection. In 1994, Canada was the first Western country to grant refugee status on the grounds of FGM/C. 

Still, while Canada’s legal system should offer protection for girls and women from FGM/C, the system can be difficult to navigate for refugees. Border and asylum officers often do not know about FGM/C and women and girls may be hesitant to talk about FGM/C. 

Families who seek asylum in Canada to protect their daughters from FGM/C in their home countries often face a difficult situation. Canada may give girls refugee status because they are at risk of undergoing FGM/C, but their parents may not be given the same status and right to stay. This is because Canadian immigration laws allow children to stay in Canada if their parents receive refugee status. However, it does not work in the reverse: When a child receives refugee status, their parents are not automatically granted to stay in Canada.

Child Welfare Legislation

The Canadian Department of Justice recognizes FGM/C as a form of child abuse. Under child welfare legislation, anyone must report known or suspected cases of child abuse and mistreatment to local child welfare protection services or the police. 

In General

The Canadian government has committed itself to address and end Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting in Canada. To that effect, federal funding has been provided to address FGM/C include the following:

• The federal department Women and Gender Equality has provided funding for a qualitative research project to deepen societal understanding of FGM/C. 

• Justice Canada has provided funding to the Réseau d’action pour l’égalité des femmes immigrées et racisées du Québec to develop multilingual information and awareness tools on the physical and psychological consequences of FGM/C, as well as the impacts, rights and responsibilities and legislation related to this issue;

• The Public Health Agency of Canada has provided funding to Women’s Health in Women’s Hands to educate, sensitize and enhance supports for survivors and those at risk of experiencing FGM/C; and

• Women and Gender Equality Canada has provided funding to La Table de concertation des organismes aux services des personnes réfugiées et immigrantes to increase support for women and girls who are survivors of FGM/C.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has stated in 2018 that they would be funding a program providing guidelines to law enforcement on “honour-based” violence, underage/ forced marriages and FGM.

Government funding is an important source to help address Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting in Canada. However, current efforts are still far from a coordinated strategy to effectively protect all girls and provide support for survivors. 

In the late 1990s, Canada demonstrated a commitment to address FGM/C when a Federal Interdepartmental Working Group commissioned a research study to identify issues around FGM/C in Canada. The report  contains important findings and a long list of recommendations to address FGM/C in Canada. However, the momentum that the report could have generated in Canadian efforts to tackle FGM/C faded. The federal working group that commissioned the report was disbanded in 2001 and the proposed recommendations were never implemented.

The End FGM Canada Network is urging the Canadian government to increase its commitment and take action to effectively address and prevent Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting in Canada and abroad.

9. OK if FGM/C is a Canadian issue too, then who is at risk?

A girl in Canada may be at risk of FGM/C if:

• her mother, aunts, sisters, or other family members have undergone FGM/C;

• her family is less integrated in Canadian society and possibly unaware of the harms of FGM/C; the family may be aware of the illegality of the practice in Canada;

• she is withdrawn from a school class that educates students about their bodies and their rights because her parents want her to remain uninformed;

• a special occasion or ceremony is going to take place where the girl 'becomes a woman' or is 'prepared for marriage';

• the family has a visitor from abroad, perhaps a family elder or someone else known as a 'cutter';

• the family arranges a long holiday or visits a family abroad during the summer holidays;

• the girl has an unexpected or long absence from school;

• a girl runs away from home.

It is important to know that a girl may be subjected to FGM/C by members of her extended family, without her parents knowing or agreeing to it.

Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting in Canada is often practiced in secret.  There is a general lack of awareness on FGM/C here.  The fear of being called racist has also stifled discussions on how to save girls from this harmful practice.

There are few services for survivors of FGM/C in Canada.  It can also be difficult for survivors to access services that do exist and can support them with healthcare or mental counselling. Surviors and girls at risk of FGM/C are immigrant and racialized women and girls who already face discrimination and barriers to accessing services. Moreover, many healthcare and other service providers lack critical training to provide culturally competent services.  This can make a visit to the doctor a traumatic experience for women and girls. 

10. In summary, what do I need to know?

• Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting is performed on women and girls to alter or injure her genitalia for non-medical reasons. FGM/C includes all practices that involve the partial or total removal of external female genitalia or other injury for non-medical purposes.

• Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting has severe physical and mental health consequences that often affect survivors of FGM/C throughout their life.

• Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting can happen at any age, but it is mostly young girls who are at risk.

• Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting is not specific to one culture or religion. Religion and culture are often used to justify the practice, but neither Christian, Muslim, nor Jewish religious scripture requires it.  Cultural norms that are harmful cannot be accepted.

• Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting is a human rights violation. FGM/C denies girls their right to freedom from harm.

• Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting is a global issue. It happens in more than 90 countries.

• Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting is an issue in Canada. Thousands of girls in Canada may be at risk of being cut. Thousands of survivors have little support.

11. Where can I find more information?

Find more information and answers to frequently asked questions on the UN Population Fund’s FAQ page (last updated July 2019). 

• The World Health Organization on Female Genital Mutilation

• WHO

• UN

• Equality Now