Female Genital Mutilation: 30 Million Girls "At Risk" BBC Report, July 22, 2013
New UNICEF report on female genital mutilation/cutting: Turning opposition into action UNICEF Report on Child Protection from Violence, Exploitation and Abuse, July 22, 2013
The UN Report: Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: A Statistical Overview and Exploration of the Dynamics of Change, July 2013
“FGM/C is a violation of a girl’s rights to health, well-being and self-determination,” says UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Geeta Rao Gupta. “What is clear from this report is that legislation alone is not enough. The challenge now is to let girls and women, boys and men speak out loudly and clearly and announce they want this harmful practice abandoned.”
"UNICEF published its first statistical exploration of FGM/C
in 2005, helping to increase awareness of the magnitude and persistence of the
practice. This report, published eight years later, casts additional light on
how the practice is changing and on the progress being made. The analyses
contained on the following pages show that social dynamics favouring the
elimination of the practice may exist even in countries where the practice is
universal and provide clues on how they might be harnessed. The report also
makes clear that, in some countries, little or no change is apparent yet and
further programmatic investments are needed.
"As many as 30 million girls are at risk of being cut over
the next decade if current trends persist. UNICEF will continue to engage with
governments and civil society, together with other partners, to advance efforts to eliminate
FGM/C worldwide. If, in the next decade, we work together to apply the wealth
of evidence at our disposal, we will see major progress. That means a better
life and more hopeful prospects for millions of girls and women, their families
and entire communities.
Geeta Rao Gupta
