Brussels, 10/06/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 9 March, the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) published a study in which it develops a methodology to estimate the number of girls at risk of female genital mutilation (FGM) in EU member states. Virginija Langbakk, director of EIGE, stated: “Being able to estimate the number of girls at risk of FGM can be very useful for policy makers, not only when planning and implementing asylum or migration policies, but also for measures and activities related to social integration”. The methodology is currently being tested in Ireland, Portugal and Sweden.
The findings of this research stress the importance of cooperation between governments and communities in preventing the practice of female genital mutilation in Europe and beyond. To back up their findings, the authors also provided a number of statistics estimating the rate of female genital mutilation in the countries of the world practising it, with data analysing the presence of women in the countries concerned but living in European Union countries. The study is also based on the conclusions of discussion groups assessing migrants attitudes to female genital mutilation and the way in which ideas about this issue can evolve over time.
The study also highlights the fact that a growing number of EU Member States are improving their legal and policy frameworks in this area. Finland, Italy and Portugal are currently implementing national action plans to specifically combat female genital mutilation, while Belgium, Croatia, France, Slovakia, Spain, the UK and Ireland are including measures in their national action plans and setting up awareness raising initiatives. (Isabelle Lamberty)