Proportion of communities that have made a public declaration of abandonment of FGM

Proportion of communities that have made a public declaration of abandonment of FGM

Proportion of communities that have made a public declaration of abandonment of FGM

 

This indicator quantifies the proportion of communities that have collectively and publicly committed to ending the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM). A public declaration of abandonment of FGM includes a communal event where one or more groups – often villages, but now also extending to districts and ethnic communities – come together. During this ceremony, the communities pledge to cease the practice of FGM (Elise et al., 2013).

When the practice is abandoned collectively by a community, it is part of an in-depth process of community mobilization and advocacy starting with education and awareness-raising: people becoming aware of the existence of an alternative to FGM and valuing the alternative more highly than the practice. With this comes community discussion followed by community decision. The next step is to publicize community commitment: there needs to be a moment of coordinated and actual abandonment where the greater part of the community publicly resolves to abandon the practice together and monitor adherence to the change (Mackie and LeJeune, 2009).

This indicator is calculated as:

Numerator: The number of communities that have conducted a formal public declaration to abandon FGM.

Denominator: The total number of communities recognized as practicing FGM within the intervention areas.

Data Requirement:

Documented proof of a public declaration by the community to forsake FGM, such as an endorsed agreement or a communal event.

Project reports, media reports (e.g. newspaper, radio, television), interviews, or special studies

FGM is a powerful social tradition dictated by rewards and punishments which perpetuate the practice. In view of this conventional nature of FGM, it is difficult for families to abandon the practice without support from the wider community. In fact, it is often practiced even when it is known to be harmful to girls because the perceived social benefits of the practice are deemed higher than its disadvantages (WHO et al, 2008).

Because FGM is deeply influenced by what people perceive to be the values and attitudes of community member toward the practice, it is important that social changes pushing to end FGM are made with a visible or explicit public declaration. Public announcements marking the abandonment of certain practices result from a comprehensive process that generally spans six months to two years. This process involves deep engagement with educational content, legal awareness, influential viewpoints, alternatives to the traditional practice, and various services. Most of these community declarations gather key figures from every sector of the community, including traditional and religious authorities, government representatives, lawmakers, healthcare professionals, former of the custom, and non-governmental organizations. They are joined by individuals across all demographics—men, women, young girls, and boys—in a unified event that strengthens the collective anticipation that girls will be preserved whole. (UNFPA, 2020)

Initially a core group needs to agree to pursue community abandonment of the practice. But to bring about large-scale, sustained change, more than a handful of people or families must reverse their attitude towards the practice. Since FGM is more likely to be practiced in order to gain acceptance and recognition within one’s own community – as a means of inclusion rather than differentiation – a significant number of families need to collectively agree to stop the practice so that those who wish to abandon FGM can be assured that they will be able to marry their daughters, will not face shame or exclusion, and will not be disadvantaged by the decision (UNICEF, Innocenti Research Center, 2008). In short, the agreement must be collective, explicit, and widespread within the practicing community so that each family will have the confidence that others are also abandoning the practice. In fact, when practicing communities decide on their own to stop FGM, evaluations indicate that the practice can be eliminated rather quickly (WHO et al, 2008).

This indicator measures public acknowledgement to abandon FGM but does not monitor actual adherence to the pledge. Although joint public promises put at stake people’s resolve and social reputation for keeping commitments, evaluators working in FGM programming may still want to track the communities contributing to this indicator to determine if sustained change has occurred or if the practice is still happening in private.

Elise, R. and B. Johansen, N. J. Diop, G. Laverack and E. Leye. 2013. “What Works and What Does Not: A Discussion of Popular Approaches for the Abandonment of Female Genital Mutilation.” Obstetrics and Gynecology International 2013, Article ID 348248.

Mackie, G. and LeJeune, J. 2009. Social Dynamics of Abandonment of Harmful Practices: A New Look at the Theory.  Innocenti Working Paper, Special Series on Social Norms and Harmful Practices. UNICEF, Innocenti Research Centre.

WHO, UNDP, UNECA, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNHCHR, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNIFEM. 2008. Eliminating female genital mutilation: an interagency statement. UNAIDS

UNICEF, Innocenti Research Centre. 2008. Platform for Action Towards the Abandonment of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C). The Donors Working Group on Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting. 

UNFPA. 2020. Measuring effectiveness of female genital mutilation elimination: A compendium of Indicators. Prepared and published by UNFPA and UNICEF on behalf of the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on the elimination of female genital mutilation: Accelerating Change.