Sexually Transmitted Infections and Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Sexually Transmitted Infections and Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Gerd Gross – Stephen K. Tyring (Editors) – Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2011

Female Genital Mutilation and Risk for Transmission of STIs

Aldo Morrone, Roberta Calcaterra and Gennaro Franco

Cap. 59, p. 847

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a traditional cultural practice, but also a form of violence against girls, which affects their lives as adult women. FGM comprises a wide range of procedures: the excision of the prepuce; the partial or total excision of the clitoris (clitoridectomy) and labia; or the stitching and narrowing of the vaginal orifice (infibulation). The number of girls and women who have been subjected to FGM is estimated at around 137 million worldwide and 3 million girls per year are considered at risk. Most of the females who have undergone mutilation live in 28 African countries.

International migration has led to an increased presence of circumcised women in Europe and developed countries. Healthcare specialists need to be made aware of and trained in the physical, psychosexual, and cultural aspects and effects of FGM and in the response to the needs of genitally mutilated women.