Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: Addressing the Evidence Gaps

Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) is a serious, widespread and persistent threat to the health of women, girls, and communities worldwide. Existing evidence about FGM/C’s drivers, risk factors, epidemiologic profile, and health complications are well documented. However, there are areas of inquiry that remain under-explored in current evidence, limiting governments, institutions, and donors’ ability to make progress in both preventing the practice and improving the quality of life for people with FGM/C. This collection aims to address the specific gaps detailed below by focusing on under-explored areas of inquiry related to FGM/C, including life-course and social determinants perspectives.We welcome original scholarship that addresses the current gaps in what we know about FGM/C. Submission formats may include study reports, conceptual analyses, policy analyses/briefs, robust program evaluations, evaluations of curricula and associated learning outcomes, systematic reviews, and mapping reviews. In addition, we encourage submissions that are led by persons with FGM/C, from communities that practice FGM/C, and/or that center the perspectives of people with FGM/C.We are particularly interested in:• FGM/C in regions with fewer data or low-prevalence, such as East, South and Central Asia, the Middle East, the Americas, and Europe.• Non-surgical interventions to address long-term sequelae (e.g., pelvic floor physical therapy, psychosexual counseling, etc.)• New data on surgical interventions to address long-term sequelae (e.g., timing of defibulation, clitorial reconstruction techniques, etc.)• Life-course perspectives on FGM/C, including how risks, health needs, and social consequences evolve from childhood through older adulthood.• Long-term morbidities related to FGM/C, particularly the effects of perimenopause and menopause and interventions to address them• Implications and experiences of less frequently covered types of FGM/C such as I, II, and IV• How health systems respond to and support survivors’ needs, barriers to care, access to quality health care for survivors of FGM/C, and evidence-based solutions to improving provider competencies• How recent changes in global development funding have impacted or may impact FGM/C research and programming• How the intersection of determinants of health — such as education, poverty, rural or urban residence, and migration (caused by climate crises and/or conflict) — shape FGM/C prevalence, health outcomes, and access to care• Evaluations of anti-FGM/C policies/legislation and their real-world implementation in health systems• Rigorous and/or long-term evaluation of prevention and abandonment programs (e.g., the role of men and boys, gender norms influence on decision-making about FGM/C and abandonment of the practice, alternative rites of passage, alternative streams of income for practitioners & providers) Topic editors: Joya Banerjee, Nicole Warren, María Del Mar Pastor-Bravo Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/81158/female-genital-mutilationcutting-addressing-the-evidence-gaps