FGM in Portugal: scientific study points the way to eliminating the practice

A study co-funded by FCT and the Commission for Citizenship and Gender Equality (CIG), presents the first scientific data on the prevalence of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in Portugal. The team, led by Manuel Lisboa, from CESNOVA (Universidade Nova de Lisboa), also analyzed the perception and knowledge of communities and health professionals regarding the practice of FGM, clinical response structures and existing public policies for its elimination. The study, which includes recommendations for continuing to combat and prevent FGM, is considered a much-needed starting point for the work to be carried out in the 3rd action program of the National Plan to Combat and Prevent Domestic and Gender Violence.

In the communities where it is prevalent, FGM is commonly practiced on girls between the ages of zero and 15, but also on adult women, depending on the community and socio-cultural context. It is recognized as a serious violation of the human rights of women of all ages and is clearly condemned in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and prohibited in several international conventions. Portugal welcomes migrants from countries where the practice takes place (Guinea-Bissau, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, among others), but until now there was no data on the prevalence of the practice in Portugal.

Data on the prevalence of FGM in the countries of origin of the women potentially affected by the practice was precisely the starting point for calculating the estimated prevalence of FGM in Portugal. Using an approach used in recent studies in other countries, the researchers applied the prevalence rates in the countries of origin to the number of women living in Portugal from countries practicing FGM (between the ages of 15 and 49). The analysis was then extended to women over the age of 49. The results point to more than 6,500 women who may have undergone FGM in Portugal. The districts of Lisbon and Setúbal account for the largest number of women, followed by Faro. The breakdown of prevalence data by district (and even by council) is particularly useful for developing and implementing information, identification and elimination programs for local action. 

In order to understand the contexts and characteristics inherent in the practice of FGM, the researchers surveyed 123 men and women belonging to the communities identified in the prevalence study (87 women and 36 men). The vast majority of respondents did not consider FGM to be a "good practice" (99% of women; 94% of men). Among the women, 40% said they had a woman or girl in their family who had been subjected to the practice; in the case of the men, this figure was 18%. Five percent of the women surveyed are thinking of having their daughters subjected to the practice, and 6% of the men would like their future wife to be excised.

The surveys were supplemented by in-depth interviews with women who had undergone and had not undergone the practice, with men from countries where FGM is practiced, and with health professionals and leaders of immigrant associations. The women recognize FGM as a harmful practice, shrouded in a cultural and religious ritual. The men are somewhat ambivalent about FGM: they recognize it as a harmful practice, but as well as considering it a "women's issue", they point out its importance for the integration of girls and women into communities.

The study resulted from the work of a multidisciplinary team, integrating various scientific areas: Sociology, Anthropology, Psychology, Women's Studies, Gynecology, Sexology, Public Health, Law and Statistics. The project was selected by a panel of international experts from among several proposals submitted to the Call launched by FCT in 2013, as part of the protocol signed with the Commission for Citizenship and Gender Equality.

The report of the study "Female Genital Mutilation: prevalence, sociocultural dynamics and recommendations for its elimination" was publicly presented on July 15 and is available here and on the IGC website.