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The purpose of this paper is to explore the harms suffered by intersex children who are subjected to medically unnecessary genital-normalizing surgery (GNS) and the possible applicability of statutes prohibiting female genital mutilation (FGM) to certain cases of GNS to redress this harm in the USA.

Consulting publications by medical researchers and intersex activists alike, this comment reviews the procedures undertaken as part of GNS (most commonly including clitoral reduction) and the reasons behind these procedures. It also parses the language of federal and state statutes prohibiting FGM in the USA.

Surgical practices that include clitoral cutting when the procedure is not necessary to the health of the person on whom it is performed constitute FGM and are punishable under federal and certain state laws in the USA. GNS with clitoral reduction fits the definition of FGM because it is performed for cosmetic and social reasons, not medical necessity.

Acknowledging GNS with clitoral reduction as FGM is a crucial strategy to ensure that female-assigned intersex children’s rights to bodily autonomy are protected to the same extent as non-intersex children’s rights. Intersex legal activists in the USA should press for enforcement of FGM statutes as to female-assigned intersex children until the medical practitioners who continue to defend and perform GNS see the procedures as illegal genital mutilation.

This chapter discusses adjudication, expertise, and cultural difference as it appears in criminal court cases concerning female genital cutting (FGM) in the EU, as reported in a 2015 comparative overview. It begins with the distinction between typical and atypical FGM cases; a distinction that connects court cases to the cultural realities of the practicing communities, suggesting that the lack of cultural knowledge can cause unnecessary suffering to families and/or individuals who wrongly undergo prosecution in alleged FGM cases. A contrario, the intervention of experts in FGM court cases could be a positive approach to assessing the legitimacy of public intervention in certain cases.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the perceptions of and barriers to reporting female genital mutilation (FGM) by victims and survivors of FGM to the police in England and Wales.

The paper is based on 14 interviews conducted with adult survivors and victims of FGM. A combination of 1:1 and group interviews were used, based on the preference of the respondents. Respondents were recruited in collaboration with specialist non-governmental organisations and major stakeholders in the area of honour-based violence and black and minority ethnic communities.

A key finding in this research was that all victims/survivors the authors interviewed stated that they did not support the practice of FGM, and that they would not follow it for younger women in their own family. Second, the authors found that none of the respondents had reported their experience to the police. Third, they identified key barriers to reporting, which included: their belief that reporting their own experience would not serve any purpose because they had experienced FGM as children, and in another country; and that they did not feel able to report new incidents of FGM in the community because of a lack of trust in the police due to previous negative experiences. Finally, they believed that FGM could be prevented only by work within the community, and not through engagement with the criminal justice system.

This is, to our knowledge, one of the first papers that is based on victims and survivors’ perceptions that explores barriers to reporting cases of FGM to the police, and offers levers for change.

The purpose of this paper is to explore perspectives of Somali refugees on female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and potential changes in these after migration.

Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted in Denver, Colorado, USA, with 13 Somali refugees. Thematic content analysis was used to analyze the data.

Change of perspectives regarding the support of FGM/C were noted among all participants, with most opposing infibulations, FGM/C type III, after migration but supporting Sunna, the cutting of the clitoris, FGM/C type I. Changes were prompted by education on FGM/C and resettling resulting in an awareness that infibulation is not a religious requirement nor undergone by all women. Cultural beliefs regarding the importance of virginity, purity and honor to the family underpinning the rationale of FGM/C were prevalent and some confusion in dealing with these cultural values was found. Women reported health care providers (HCPs) not being culturally prepared for women with FGM/C.

Despite limitations to the study, findings indicate the complex process of migration and acculturation, leaving communities with cultural values in a context where these are not accepted. More research and discussion with the Somali immigrant community is required to better understand the practice of FGM/C after immigration, and how to deal with these cultural values.

Findings suggest some girls may still be at risk of some types of FGM/C after migration. Public health professionals, social and immigration workers should be aware of a potential risk. HCPs should prepare for caring for women with FGM/C.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) in the context of gender and HIV/AIDS among the Shangani people in Zimbabwe. Broadly, the discussion ais to fcus on how FGM has been used as tool to maintain the subordinate position of women in the Shangani community.

In addition to secondary material, the paper hugely benefited from interviews with Shangani women in order to appreciate the challenges of eradicating FGM in their society. The sources pointed to the fact that in addition to being exploitative, FGM has no direct health benefits to women.

The paper confirms that eliminating FGM is difficult because it is deeply entrenched in the patriarchal establishment of the Shangani society. As a result of the patriarchal nature of the society, women find themselves subjected to positions of powerlessness as compared to their male counterparts.

The paper confirms that FGM is a widespread practice in many African communities including Zimbabwe. As communities grapple with the challenges of eradicating or minimising the practice, it is important in the meantime to modernise cultural practices like FGM as a way of doing away with the spreading of HIV/AIDS. Indonesia has already taken that route. FGM as a cultural practice exposes young women to HIV infection because of blood conduct.

Although this chapter situates all violence against women as a human rights issue, it emphasises ‘culturalised’ forms of this violence, such as honour-based violence/abuse, forced marriage and female genital mutilation. The authors draw upon their respective research to highlight how these forms of gendered violence have been subjected to a process of culturalisation. The chapter shows that while this process has raised awareness of previously under-researched forms of abuse and highlighted some of the contextual differences between women’s experiences of violence more broadly, its overemphasis on culture and cultural pathology has resulted in policy and legislative responses that do not always benefit victims. Ultimately, this chapter aims to problematise ‘culturalised’ understandings of violence in diverse communities and to show how current policy, legislative and support responses fail to adequately address the intersectional needs of black and minority ethnic victims/survivors.¹

This study aims to explore the impact of COVID-19 on women and children in the UK who were victims of domestic abuse.

The authors draw from their experiences of working in the domestic abuse sector to reflect on the impact of lockdown restrictions on women and children, focussing on the impact of government restrictions that created an environment in which abusers could control the movement of victims.

The impact of the pandemic was significant as victims were locked into the abuse, unable to escape for fear of breaching lockdown rules. The lockdown affected victims of different forms of violence against women and girls in the UK including forced marriage and female genital mutilation, which highlighted the ramifications of intersectional inequalities for abuse victims.

This paper articulates the devastating impact of the pandemic on vulnerable women, and their fair and just access to the family courts. This paper concludes that women were failed by the government and that there was not nearly enough support from support agencies, which has left many at risk and suffering significant harm.

Despite numerous studies on FGM, little is known about belief systems that support FGM in the EU. The purpose of this paper is to explore the dynamic nature of belief systems and enforcement mechanisms that perpetuate FGM among three African migrant communities in the EU.

This paper is based on data collected through community-based participatory action research in three communities: Eritrean and Ethiopian community in Palermo, Italy; Guinea Bissauan community in Lisbon, Portugal; and Senegalese and Gambian community in Banyoles, Spain. A total of 24 FGDs and 70 in-depth narrative interviews were conducted for the research.

The research finds that belief systems supporting the practice of FGM among African migrants in the European diaspora are similar to those in their home countries. Beliefs structured around religion, sexuality, decency, marriage and socialisation are particularly significant in perpetuating FGM in the study migrant communities. These are enforced through sanctions and social expectations from the migrants’ home and host communities.

Members of the migrant communities that were the focus of this research are ethnically diverse; therefore it is possible that differences in the practice of and views on FGM by various ethnicities may have been masked. Also, due to close linkages between the migrants and their home countries it was hard to delineate beliefs that are specific to the host countries. In addition, it was difficult to assess the level of education of the migrants and how this may have impacted on their beliefs due to their contrasting and inconsistent educational backgrounds.

This paper provides evidence to show that the practice of FGM among migrants in the EU is driven by both social norms and individual (parent) behaviour and therefore there is a need for interventions to focus on individual behaviour change and social norm transformation techniques. It also suggests that beliefs around FGM have remained socially significant among migrants despite their exposure to European culture because such beliefs are used to promote the moral standards of girls, marriageability of women, respectability of families, and the assertion of cultural and religious identity in the migrants’ new environment. The paper further underscores the role of migrants’ European context as well as the home country in strengthening beliefs that perpetuate FGM in the EU.

The literature on health care provision for immigrants in Italy has generally been considered to be less relevant than in other sectors in terms of exclusion, due to the universalistic mission and organisation of the health system. Nevertheless, studies have suggested that there are problems relating to service access and use by immigrants in this sector also. In particular, in recent years the increasing proportion of women in the immigrant population has led to the emergence of new needs in the social and health services. The Italian literature on health policy for immigrants is now well‐developed, and there has been particular reference to the gender dimension. However, clinical data and general data on health service use by immigrants are still incomplete. This article will draw from this existing state of the art in the field, as well as research from recent and ongoing comparative projects.1 Following an overview of the institutional framework for immigration policies in Italy and reference to its political context, the article will examine the vulnerable position of female immigrants, both at the general level and in relation to health care. This will involve examination of the principal legislative provisions in the field of health policy for immigrants, and particular arrangements affecting the gender dimension. Specific provisions in health care for immigrant women will be assessed, together with proposals to make them more effective.

For decades, researchers studying female genital cutting have sought to understand why the practice continues amidst abundant evidence indicating that serious health consequences can result from the more aggressive forms of cutting. Behavioral ecology theory is applied to data collected among Ghana’s Kassena-Nankana to highlight the gendered cultural forces that keep FGC practice in place through successful reproductive outcomes. With its strong association to marriageability, and thus women’s status and access to resources through marriage, circumcision has long been obligatory. However, the social transformation that is currently underway in this rural population is bringing a new perspective to the value of education, which is replacing circumcision as the resource access currency.