Sometimes, girls are taken across national borders to undergo FGM in a country where the law against the practice is either non-existent or less strict. This phenomenon is known as cross-border female genital mutilation. Cross-border FGM is still poorly documented and difficult to identify, in part because of its clandestine nature.
In order to better understand the phenomenon, a discussion was organised within the Community of Practice in December 2019.
The issue note focuses on the practice of cross-border FGM, (mainly in African communities) and the measures that contribute to ending it, and those that, conversely, work to propagate it beyond national borders.
The objective of the discussion was to deepen the understanding of cross-border FGM in different communities and to share experiences, ideas and preventive measures that could help combat the practice in various contexts.
Three Experts were invited to share their experience and expertise:
- Natalie Robi Tingo, anti-FGM activist, founder and director of Msichana Empowerment Kuria, Kenya
- Joséphine Wouango, anthropologist, lecturer at the University of Liège, Belgium
- Felister Gitonga, Harmful Practices Programme Officer at Equality Now, Kenya
CoP members shared their personal knowledge of the phenomenon, sought solutions to combat the practice and discussed the role of laws in the practice of cross-border FGM.
The discussion was based on three main guiding questions:
- Does cross-border FGM exist in your country? Do you have data and evidence on the practice?
- How is it possible to eradicate cross-border FGM in our communities?
- In your experience, have regional laws had a positive effect on cross-border FGM?
During the discussion we found that the common frame of thought often leads us to think more in terms of borders and states than in terms of communities. However, cross-border FGM can only be explained by understanding the presence of the same community on both sides of a border, resulting in common trips and an absence of feeling like a “stranger” in the other country.
Experts highlighted the importance of collaboration, cooperation and harmonization of strategies to combat FGM in countries hosting communities affected by the practice. Indeed, differences in legislation and law enforcement are the main factor that motivates cross-border FGM. The possibility of establishing border controls to identify reasons for travel and detect cases of cross-border FGM was debated during the discussion but resulted in almost unanimous rejection because of the counterproductive nature of such an approach.
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« The Community of Practice on Female Genital Mutilation » is part of the « Building Bridges between Africa and Europe to tackle FGM » project, supported by the « UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on the Elimination of FGM ».
The project is coordinated by AIDOS in partnership with GAMS Belgium.
The views expressed on this website are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the UNFPA, UNICEF or any other agency or organization.
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