New Zealand Should Intensify Efforts to Eliminate Female Genital Mutilation by 2030: The Views of Women from Communities That Practice FGM/C

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Authors
Said, A
Conn, C
Nayar, S
Supervisor
Item type
Journal Article
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Publisher
School of Public Health and Psychosocial Studies, AUT University
Abstract

In 2016 UNICEF reported on the continuing scale and persistence of female genital mutilation globally, currently known as female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C), and the need to intensify efforts to eliminate the practice. New Zealand has made provision for communities in preventing FGM/C through legal and educational means. Yet, the challenge continues. The purpose of this paper, drawing on the voices of women from FGM/C practicing communities in New Zealand, is to consider areas where the health system can partner with affected communities to better help in preventing FGM/C. New Zealand needs to intensify efforts locally working hand-in-hand with refugee and migrant communities to promote open dialogue, counter stigma, and prevent the next generation for a life without FGM(C). In addition, training for key workers in culturally sensitive approaches is needed so that they can take better care of those who are living with FGM/C. New Zealand is a signatory to a number of international instruments and conventions that call for an end to FGM/C: such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), and more recently the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As such, it has a responsibility to at least address the issue locally; and preferably provide an example of excellence globally so that FGM/C is eliminated rapidly.

Description
Keywords
Female circumcision; Infibulation; FGM; Refugees; FGM/C; Young women; New Zealand refugees
Source
Pacific Health, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.24135/pacifichealth.v1i1.10
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