Despite global and local attempts to end genital mutilation, in their various forms, whether of males or females, the practice has persisted throughout human history in most parts of the world. Various medical, scientific, hygienic, aesthetic, religious, and cultural reasons have been used to justify it. In this symposium on circumcision, against the background of the other articles by Hutson, ...

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...

a highly heterogeneous population of minority ethnic groups. Among these are two groups in which the practice of female circumcision, or female genital mutilation as it is now known, is traditional: the Somalis and the Yemenis. In addition to these well established communities there are members of other ethnic groups in which it is practised. Female genital mutilation is an ancient practice fou...

BACKGROUND Women who have undergone female genital mutilation rarely have access to the reconstructive surgery that is now available. Our objective was to assess the immediate and long-term outcomes of this surgery. METHODS Between 1998 and 2009, we included consecutive patients with female genital mutilation aged 18 years or older who had consulted a urologist at Poissy-St Germain Hospital, ...