We thank the commentators for their thoughtful remarks. We have arranged our responses to the commentators thematically; within each section we start first with general comments before discussing particular statements by individual commentators. We also thank the Journal of Medical Ethics for publishing our original manuscript, the accompanying commentaries, an editorial from the Journal staff,...

PURPOSE The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and associated factors of female genital cutting (FGC) among young adult (10-24 years of age) females in Jigjiga district, eastern Ethiopia. METHODS A school-based cross-sectional mixed method combining both quantitative and qualitative research methods was employed among 679 randomly selected young adult female students from Jigjiga ...

BACKGROUND The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that 100-140 million girls and women have undergone female genital mutilation or cutting (FGM/C). FGM/C is an ancient cultural practice prevalent in 26 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. With increased immigration, health professionals in high income countries including UK, Europe, North America and Australia care for women an...

BACKGROUND Female genital mutilation or female circumcision (FGM) is a serious health problem in Sudan. This procedure is harmful to women and causes many complications during pregnancy and childbirth. OBJECTIVE This study aims to determine the female genital mutilation (FGM) and its associated factors in Sudan. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Data from Sudan Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS - ...

BACKGROUND Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) is still prevalent in several communities in Kenya and other areas in Africa, as well as being practiced by some migrants from African countries living in other parts of the world. This study aimed at detecting clustering of FGM/C in Kenya, and identifying those areas within the country where women still intend to continue the practice. A bro...

Two hundred million girls and women in the world are estimated to have undergone female genital mutilation (FGM), and another 15 million girls are at risk of experiencing it by 2020 in high prevalence countries (UNICEF, 2016. Female genital mutilation/cutting: a global concern. 2016). Despite decades of concerted efforts to eradicate or abandon the practice, and the increased need for clear gui...

UNLABELLED Sierra Leone has one of the highest rates of female genital mutilation (FGM) in the world, and yet little is known about the health consequences of the practice. PURPOSE To explore whether and what kind of FGM-related health complications girls and women in Sierra Leone experience, and to elucidate their health care-seeking behaviors. PATIENTS AND METHODS A feasibility study was ...

BACKGROUND Female genital mutilation and cutting (FGM/C) has long been practiced in various parts of the world. The practice is still prevalent in 29 countries on the African continent despite decades of campaigning to eradicate it. The approaches for eradication have been multi-pronged, including but not limited to, health risk campaigns teaching about the health consequences for the girls and...

HASTINGS CENTER REPORT 19 Starting in the early 1980s, media coverage of customary African genital surgeries for females has been problematic and overly reliant on sources from within a global activist and advocacy movement opposed to the practice, variously described as female genital mutilation, female genital cutting, or female circumcision. Here, we use the more neutral expression female ge...

OBJECTIVE Female genital cutting (FGC) is the collective name given to traditional practices that involve partial or total cutting away of the female external genitalia whether for cultural or other non-therapeutic reasons. In Egypt, the result of the Demographic Health Survey in 2000 revealed that 97% of married women included in the survey experienced FGC. The aim of this study is to measure ...