The INFO Project Blog

On February 6th, I attended a great symposium titled, “Lessons Learned from over a Decade of Evaluating Approaches to Encourage the Abandonment of FGM/C”, organized by Population Council’s Frontiers Project. The Symposium highlighted the evaluation of a number of interventions throughout the last 10 years, highlighting work done by Tostan.

The Population Council’s FRONTIERS Program has documented 10 lessons to successfully bring about change in the practice of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C). They include:

1. Define goals and indicators of project interventions.
2. FGM/C is more than a health issue; it is an issue of gender discrimination and inequality. So the end goal should be the abandonment of the practice, not just making it safer.

3. Interventions and goals should match a community’s readiness for social change.

4. The most effective approaches are multi-faceted; they should be a part of larger development strategies.

5. Focus on reducing social support for the practice rather than abandonment by practitioners; need to address the demand of the practice.

6. Implementing laws against FGM/C is an effective component of change but must be complemented by education campaigns.

7. Approaches that use alternative rites can only work where FGM/C is an integral component of a social rite of passage and must be accompanied by community sensitization.

8. Use the media; use multiple channels to spread the messages.

9. Medical providers can be effective change agents within their community. Make FGM/C an integrated component of their training.

10. Work with Islamic leaders and scholars on the religious aspects of FGM/C.

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