5 Things You Need to Know About Ending FGM/C by 2030

Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) is a human rights violation affecting millions of women and girls worldwide. In 2020, our report, FGM/C: A Call for a Global Response, exposed the global scale of FGM/C and called for urgent action. However, five years later, progress has been far too slow.

Our latest report, The Time is Now: End FGM/C – An Urgent Need for a Global Response 2025, is a five-year update that reveals:

• FGM/C is more widespread globally than previously documented.
• Legal protections remain inadequate in many high-prevalence countries.
• Survivors and activists continue to face barriers due to underfunding and denial.

Here are five critical insights from the report:

1. 230 Million Girls and Women Have Experienced FGM/C

According to UNICEF’s 2024 estimates, 230 million girls and women have undergone FGM/C globally, a 15% increase since 2020. This sharp rise is due to population growth in practicing communities and newly available estimates from countries previously unaccounted for. Alarmingly, Asia alone accounts for 80 million survivors, with an additional 6 million in the Middle East and up to 2 million among countries where FGM/C is practiced by small communities or diaspora populations.

2. FGM/C is Happening in More Countries Than You Think

FGM/C is a global issue, occurring in at least 94 countries. The report reveals new evidence of FGM/C in:

• Azerbaijan: Documented among North Caucasian communities since 2020.
• Vietnam and Cambodia: Found among the Cham community through ongoing research.

FGM/C is not limited to one region, it is practiced across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, Europe, and North America, often within indigenous or diaspora communities.

3. Specific Laws to End FGM/C Are Still Missing in Key Countries

Despite the severity of the crisis, only 59 of the 94 countries have specific laws banning FGM/C. Shockingly:

• In Africa, high-prevalence countries, Sierra Leone, Mali, Liberia, and Somalia, still have no specific laws against FGM/C.
• In Asia, only one country (Indonesia) has passed a law prohibiting FGM/C (covering only girls under age 5).

Without comprehensive laws and enforcement, millions of girls remain at risk.

4. Governments Continue to Deny FGM/C as a Human Rights Violation

Denial and inaction are fueling the crisis. The report highlights that many governments, particularly in Asia and the Middle East, refuse to acknowledge FGM/C as an existing human rights issue. This continued denial: 

• Undermines survivors and activists.
• Blocks efforts to pass laws and implement prevention programs.
• Allows harmful myths and justifications, such as medicalized FGM/C, to persist.

FGM/C is not a cultural or religious practice, it is a human rights violation.

5. We Are Far from Achieving Global Goals Without Action and Investment

Global efforts to end FGM/C remain underfunded and unevenly distributed:

• The majority of funding is concentrated in a few African countries, yet even these regions are severely under-resourced.
• Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America receive only a fraction of the necessary investment.
• Without urgent funding and political will, achieving SDG 5.3 (eliminating FGM/C by 2030) is impossible.

The Time to Act is NOW

Our latest report provides evidence, challenges, and recommendations to end FGM/C. Survivors, activists, and many women’s rights organizations have been leading the movement to end FGM/C. Now, governments, donors, and global leaders must step up.

The report calls on:

• Governments to enact and enforce laws and recognize FGM/C as a human rights violation.
• Donors to increase funding and support grassroots movements.
• The international community to strengthen research and data collection.
• Healthcare providers to end medicalized FGM/C.
• Advocates and allies to amplify survivor voices and hold leaders accountable.

Read the Full Report

Explore the data, survivor stories, and recommendations that chart the path to ending FGM/C worldwide.