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 Section

DIVISION OF DATA, RESEARCH AND POLICY

2015

86

12

1

75 7972

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 whosemothers are

unsure

Daughters whosemothers 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 whosemothers thinkFGM/C should

continue

Daughters whosemothers 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

78 7671

64

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

6570

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

7565

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: data@unicef.org

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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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

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