STATISTICAL PROFILE ON FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION/CUTTING
1 World Health Organization, Eliminating Female Genital Mutilation: An interagency statement, WHO, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNIFEM, OHCHR, UNHCR, UNECA, UNESCO, UNDP, UNAIDS, WHO, Geneva, 2008, p. 4.
SELECTED STATISTICS ON WOMEN’S STATUS
Guinea
GAMBIA
Source: DHS 2013
30%9% of women 20-24 years were married or
in union before age 15
of women 20-24 years were married or in union before age 18
19% of women 20-24 years have given birthby age 18
58%of women 15-49 years think that a husband/partner is justified in hitting orbeating his wife/partner under certain circumstances
70% of women 15-49 years make use of at least one type of information media at least once a week (newspaper, magazine, television or radio)
National decree/legislation banningFGM/C passed
© UNICEF/NYHQ2009-0838/Parker
Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) refers to “all procedures involving partial or total removal of the female external genitaliaor other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.”1 FGM/C is a violationof girls’ and women’s human rights and is condemned by many international treaties and conventions, as well as by national legislation in many countries. Yet, where it is practised, FGM/C is performed in line with tradition and social norms to ensure that girls are socially accepted and marriageable, and to uphold their status and honour and that of the entire family. UNICEF works with government, civil society partners and other UN agencies towards the elimination of FGM/C in countries where it is still practised.
Data and Analytics SectionDIVISION OF DATA, RESEARCH AND POLICY
2015
86
12
1
7579
72 77
21
0
20
40
60
80
100
Total Rural Urban Muslim Christian
0.1
99
1
Three in four girls and women of reproductive age have undergone FGM/C
More than half of girls and women were subjected to FGM/C before age five
HOW WIDESPREAD IS THE PRACTICE?
WHEN AND HOW IS FGM/C PERFORMED?
P 15-49 years who have at least one daughter who has had FGM/C, by place of residence and mother's education
Percentage distribution of most recently cut daughters, by daughter's age at cutting
Percentage of girls and women aged 15-49 yearswho have had FGM/C, by préfecture
Percentage of girls and women aged 15 to 49 yearswho have undergone FGM/C,
by local government areas
Percentage of girls and women aged 15 to 49 years who have undergone FGM/C,by place of residence and religion
Percentage of girls aged 0 to 14 years who have undergone FGM/C (as reportedby their mothers), by residence, mother's education and wealth quintile
Among daughters of cut girls and women, the percentage of girls aged0 to 14 years who have undergone FGM/C, by mothers' attitudes
about whether the practice should continue
Percentage distribution of girls and women aged 15 to 49 years who have undergone FGM/C, by age at which cutting occurred
0 20 40 60 80 100
Source for all charts on this page: DHS 2013, unlessotherwise noted.
Notes: The boundaries and the names shown and the designations used on the map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations. Only categories with 25 or more unweighted cases are presented. Due to rounding, some of the data presented may not add up to 100 per cent. Prevalence data for girls aged 0 to 14 reflect their current, but not final, FGM/C status since some girls who have not been cut may still be at risk of experiencing the practice once they reach the customary age for cutting. Therefore, the data on prevalence for girls under age 15 is actually an underestimation of the true extent of the practice. Since age at cutting varies among settings, the amount of underestimation also varies and this should be kept in mind when interpreting all FGM/C prevalence data for this age group. Data on the prevalence of FGM/C among daughters of mothers who are unsure about the continuation of the practice are based on 25-49 unweighted cases. Data for girls and women are used to report on age at cutting since the earlier MICS (2005-2006) did not have questions on age at cutting for most recently cut daughters. ‘Health personnel’ includes doctors, nurses, midwives and other health workers; ‘Traditional practitioner’ includes traditional circumcisers, traditional birth attendants, traditional midwives and other types of traditional practitioners. The 2013 DHS did not collect data on the prevalenceof FGM/C among girls aged 0 to 14 years.
Percentage distribution of girls aged 0 to 14 years who have undergone FGM/C (as reported by their mothers), according to
the type of person/practitioner performing the procedure
0 20 40 60 80 100
HOW WIDESPREAD IS THE PRACTICE?
WHEN AND HOW IS FGM/C PERFORMED?
0-4 years
5-9 years
10-14 years
15+ years
Don’t know/
Missing
Percentage distribution of girls aged 0 to 14 years who have undergone FGM/C (as reported by their mothers),
by the type of FGM/C performed
Traditionalpractitioner
Health personnel
Don’t know/Missing
Cut, flesh
removed
Type not
determined/Not
sure/Don’t know
Sewn closed
56 60
51
59
51
42
51 45
0
20
40
60
80
100
Total Rural Urban No
education
Primary
complete
Secondary
or higher
Poorest Richest
75
54
Daughters whose
mothers are
unsure
Daughters whose
mothers think
FGM/C should
stop
0
20
40
60
80
100
6066
26% - 50% 51% - 80% Above 80%
10% - 25%Less than 10%
Source: MICS 2010 Source: MICS 2010
Source: MICS 2010Source: MICS 2010
Daughters whose
mothers think
FGM/C should
continue
Daughters whose
mothers say it
depends
55 91728
Percentage of girls and women aged 15 to 49 years who have undergone FGM/C, by current age
Percentage of girls and women aged 15 to 49 years who have heard about FGM/C, by their attitudes about whether the practice should continue
Almost two of three girls and women in Gambia support the continuation of FGM/C
Source for all of the above charts: DHS 2013, unless otherwise noted.
Among girls and women aged 15 to 49 years who have heard about FGM/C, the percentage who cite specific benefits or advantages
for a girl to undergo the procedure
For self-esteem
Other
No benefits
Preservation of virginity
Prevent fooling around
Don’t know
37
28
19
17
14
6
Percentage of girls and women aged 15 to 49 years who have heard about FGM/C and think the practice should continue,by wealth quintile, education, religion and age
Percentage of girls and women aged 15 to 49 years who have undergone FGM/C, and percentage of girls and women aged 15 to 49 years whohave heard about FGM/C and think the practice should continue, by survey year
7876
7164
0
20
40
60
80
100
Prevalence of FGM/C Think FGM/C should continue
There has been no significant change in the prevalence of FGM/C in Gambia
WHAT ARE THE PREVAILING ATTITUDES TOWARDS FGM/C?
IS THE PRACTICE OF FGM/C CHANGING?
76 75 77 74 74 74 76
45-49 40-44 35-39 30-34 25-29 20-24 15-19
65
70
53
67 73
60
67
16
67 67
0
20
40
60
80
100
Total Poorest Richest No education Primary complete Secondary
or higher
Muslim Christian 45-49 years 15-19 years
0
20
40
60
80
100
Think FGM/C should continue Think FGM/C should stop Say it depends/are not sure
0 100 20 40 60 80
23365
Source: MICS 2010
MICS 2005-2006 MICS 2010 DHS 2013
75
65
INTER-COUNTRY STATISTICAL OVERVIEW
GAMBIA
Sources: DHS, MICS, Population and Health Survey, RISKESDAS and Welfare Monitoring Survey, 2004-2015.
Data and Analytics Section - Division of Data, Research and PolicyUNICEF, 3 UN Plaza, New York, 10017
Website: data.unicef.org Email: [email protected]
FOR MORE INFORMATION
The Data and Analytics Section gratefully acknowledges inputs shared by UNICEF country offices.
Updated February 2016
Notes: Egypt data refer to girls aged 1-14 years and Indonesia data refer to girls aged 0-11 years. An older source is used to report on the prevalence of FGM/C among girls aged 0-14 years for Gambia (MICS 2010) since the 2013 DHS did not collect these data. MICS data for Ghana (2011) could not be used to report on attitudes towards FGM/C due to the fact that information is missing for girls and women with no living daughters; data from MICS 2006 are used instead. In Liberia, only cut girls and women were asked about their attitudes towards FGM/C; since girls and women from practising communities are more likely to support the practice, the level of support in this country as captured by the 2013 DHS is higher than would be expected had all girls and women been asked their opinion. Prevalence data on FGM/C for girls and women aged 15-49 years and data on attitudes towards FGM/C are not available for Indonesia.
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12 13 1416
1923
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37 38 39 41 41
54
65 65 69
73
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69 74 75 76
83 87 87
89 9093
97 98
0
20
40
60
80
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Cam
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Uganda
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of Ta
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nia
0
20
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Percentage of girls and women aged 15 to 49 years who have heard about FGM/C and think the practice should continue
Percentage of girls and women aged 15 to 49 years who have undergone FGM/C
Percentage of girls aged 0 to 14 years who have undergone FGM/C (as reported by their mothers)
0
20
40
60
80
100
0.2 1 1 1
32
14
17
24
33
4954 56
Togo
Ghana
Central A
frican
Republic
Uganda
Eritrea
Senegal
Burk
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Guinea
Egyp
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Maurita
nia
Gam
bia
Côte
d'Iv
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13
Indonesia
30
Benin
0.3
46
3
1013
Kenya
Eth
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Guinea-B
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Nigeria
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