Resisting the Conflation of FGM/C with Gender-Affirming Care

This moderated panel discussion and Q&A, hosted by the US End FGM/C network, Sahiyo and Equality Now, will examine how female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) is being reframed and misused in political and legal discourse, particularly through its conflation with other unrelated healthcare topics, including gender affirming care. Centering FGM/C as a human rights violation and a severe form of gender-based violence, the discussion will focus on the legal and protection risks to survivors of this narrative shift. Using recent developments in the United States as a case study, panelists will explore how this framing is spreading internationally and threatens global obligations to protect women and girls from FGM/C and ensure access to justice.