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Table 1 Guiding Principles [15]

From: Gender equality and human rights approaches to female genital mutilation: a review of international human rights norms and standards

I. Girls and women living with female genital mutilation (FGM) have experienced a harmful practice and should be provided quality health care.

II. All stakeholders – at the community, national, regional and international level – should initiate or continue actions directed towards primary prevention of FGM.

III. Medicalization of FGM (i.e. performance of FGM by health-care providers) is never acceptable because this violates medical ethics, since (i) FGM is a harmful practice; (ii) medicalization perpetuates FGM; and (iii) the risks of the procedure outweigh any perceived benefit.

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Reproductive Health

ISSN: 1742-4755