Lo Riches, Policy & Advocacy Officer, Orchid Project
Sammy Luffy, Senior Policy Research Associate, CHANGE
On January 28th, President Joe Biden set a new precedent by releasing a presidential memorandum stating that: “It is the policy of my Administration to support women’s and girls’ sexual and reproductive health and rights in the United States, as well as globally.” This is the first time a U.S. president has explicitly embraced sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). For global SRHR advocates, U.S.’ endorsement of SRHR signals a historic and significant shift in U.S. policy. While we celebrate this long-awaited milestone, these words are only meaningful if they are followed by action.
Beyond repairing the damage wreaked by the last administration, the Biden-Harris administration should embrace SRHR in a meaningful way by prioritizing international interventions to accelerate the abandonment of female genital cutting (FGC), a consistently neglected SRHR issue.
Also known as female genital mutilation or FGM, FGC is a form of gender-based violence (GBV) and is a violation of the SRHR of women and girls, including the rights to health, bodily autonomy, and pleasure. FGC involves the partial or total removal of a girl’s external genitals for non-medical purposes. Women and girls who undergo the practice, most often between infancy and age 15, experience a host of negative health outcomes throughout life, ranging from mental illness to hemorrhaging, obstetric fistula, and even death.
According to available data, at least 200 million women and girls are affected by FGC in 31 of the 90+ countries where the practice is reported to take place. This includes an estimated 513,000 women and girls in the U.S., according to a 2016 study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Given the lack of country-level estimates and insufficient funding to end the practice, FGC is an issue that requires much more attention from the global health and rights communities.
Beyond repairing the damage wreaked by the last administration, the Biden-Harris administration should embrace SRHR in a meaningful way by prioritizing international interventions to accelerate the abandonment of female genital cutting (FGC), a consistently neglected SRHR issue.
The practice of FGC is carried out for a variety of reasons in different contexts to comply with gender and social norms, culture, tradition, or misconceptions that FGC is religiously mandated. None of these reasons justify the fact that the practice is a violation of human rights and is an act of GBV. This is outlined in a newly-updated fact sheet from CHANGE and Orchid Project released this week in partnership with Advocates for Youth, ICRW, and The U.S. Network to End FGM/C in honor of the International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM on February 6, 2021.
The practice of FGC in communities is reflective of underlying gender inequality, the latter of which is linked to other forms of GBV like child, early, and forced marriage. For this reason, it is essential to include FGC in global health efforts if we are to meet the Sustainable Development Goals — none of which are achievable without Goal 5: gender equality.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated existing gender inequalities and incidence of GBV with girls facing an increased risk of being cut due to loss of prevention, protection, and support services during lockdowns and stay-at-home orders. Before the world was besieged by this pandemic, at least 4.1 million girls were being cut globally each year. This will rise to 4.6 million girls by 2030 due to population growth if progress to end the practice at the community level isn’t accelerated. According to recent estimates from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), an additional two million girls will undergo the practice by 2030 due to COVID-19-related program disruptions alone.
With its National Strategy on COVID and its Presidential Memorandum to revoke the Global Gag Rule (GGR), and actionable steps to restore funding to UNFPA, the Biden administration has the opportunity to set a powerful example in the ongoing global campaign to end FGC by responding to the practice in a way that is led by and accountable to the communities and grassroots organizations who are leading efforts to end FGC where it occurs. The new administration must also integrate the sexual and reproductive healthcare needs of women and girls who have been cut into all U.S. global health assistance programs to ensure that those who have been cut can access the services they need without fear of stigma or judgment by clinicians unfamiliar with the practice.
The U.S. does not need to lead global efforts to end FGC as there are well-established grassroots and women-led community organizations who have been successfully leading community-level efforts to abandon the practice for years. These organizations continued their work to eliminate FGC even as Biden’s predecessor actively attempted to dismantle the United States’ global commitment to SRHR through actions such as: reinstating and expanding the Global Gag Rule and defunding UNFPA from 2017 to 2020, the UN agency responsible for sexual and reproductive health globally, including work to end FGC.
The practice of FGC has long been recognized as a “fringe issue” under the umbrella of GBV and SRHR, but now is the time to remove it from the periphery and ensure it is centered and prioritized. The U.S. government must integrate a comprehensive approach within U.S. global health assistance programs that meets the sexual and reproductive health needs of those who have been cut. The Biden administration must also follow the example of the grassroots and women-led community organizations currently working to end all forms of GBV, including FGC, and support these efforts through funding.
According to the latest cost estimates from UNFPA, a total of $275 million of development assistance will be spent on programs to end FGC in 31 high-incidence countries from 2020 to 2030, though an additional $2.1 billion is required to end the practice in these countries alone by 2030. Given this significant funding shortfall, the Biden administration has the unique opportunity to help bridge this gap by funding community-led FGC abandonment efforts worldwide.
The United States can choose to stand shoulder to shoulder with SRHR advocates around the world and join us in saying: enough is enough. The U.S. government must set a powerful example by funding and supporting grassroots and women-led community organizations around the world who are leading the efforts to permanently end FGC.
CHANGE is a U.S.-based nongovernmental organization that promotes sexual and reproductive health and rights as a means to achieve gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls, by shaping the public’s conversation, elevating women’s voices, and influencing U.S. and global policies. We are guided by our vision of a world that respects, protects, and honors sexual and reproductive rights for all. Our work is grounded in and driven by a human rights framework at the intersection of multiple sectors including women’s rights, human rights, family planning, maternal health, HIV and AIDS, and gender-based violence.
Orchid Project is a global NGO catalysing the global movement to end female genital cutting (FGC). FGC is a human rights violation that harms the lives of girls, women and their communities. Orchid Project partners with pioneering grassroots organisations around the world, and share knowledge and best practice to accelerate change. Orchid Project also advocates among governments and global leaders to ensure work to end FGC is prioritised.
Together, we can create a world free from FGC.
