Download FGM/C, a social norm…

FGM/C Abandonment in Kenya
July 2012
FGM/C involves partial or total
removal of the external female
genitalia or other deliberate
injury to the female genital
organs whether for cultural or
non- therapeutic reasons.
*Kenya has made an important move towards
the abandonment of FGM/C in September
2011, with the Prohibition of Female Genital
Mutilation (FGM) Bill 2010 which was signed
into law.
*Besides the application of the law for an
effective enforcement, the challenge of
introducing innovative ways of partnering with
religious and traditional groups and other
organizations and institutions interested in
supporting and promoting social change.
*FGM in Kenya is generally performed on girls
under 10 years of age and leads to varying
amounts of scar formation.
*FGM/C is traditionally practised in all but five of
Kenya's 43 ethnic groups.
*But the practice, condemned by the Kenya
government, is still nearly universal in some
communities, including among the Kisii, Maasai,
Somali, Samburu and Kuria ethnic groups.
*Latest data (preliminary reports
of the 2008-2009 Demographic
and Health Survey) show that
nearly half of women ages 45-49
had been cut compared to only
15 per cent of those age 15-19.
*Empirical expectations: FGM/C derived
from social pressure and is conditioned by
the behaviour of the community. In the
Mungiki community it’s an old traditional
practice and an initiation to womanhood.
*Normative expectations: in the refugee
camps (Somali population), it is often
considered a prerequisite for marriage.
Woman accepts her status / male
dominance.
*Attitudes / personal normative beliefs:
belief that cutting is a religious
requirement.
*Factual beliefs: medicalization as a
positive reinforcement; perception that
young girls are not infected by HIV. There
are also economic reasons” loss of dowry if
a girl is not circumcised.
*FGM/C is not only a social convention but
also a social norm. It’s a social norm to
control virginity for marriage purpose.
*FGM/C depends on mutual beliefs,
conditional preferences and expectations
of the relevant population. This entails
that the decision-making process on FGM/C
is interdependent, no individual can
change the norm on her own.
*FGM/C is maintained by a deeply
rooted social norm.
*The gist of abandonment process
is about “inter-dependent
decision” and “reciprocal
expectations”.
*The practice is seen as a rite of passage to
womanhood;
*Some influential community leaders are blocking
change and falling into community expectations;
*In some communities, FGM/C is seen as a
women’s issue, propagated by women, for
women.
*Some community leaders do not want to go
against FGM/C because they fear losing
authority in their community.
*The country has established legal measures
for the abandonment of FGM/C.
*These legal measures were/are seen as
tools to protect individual women and
guide the behaviour of governmental law
enforcement officers and serve as a
magnet pulling the local custom in the
moral direction favourable to women and
girls.
* An “organized diffusion strategy” through
which the knowledge and actions of the
community can spread to other families or
communities through social networks.
*Local leaders public statements and
community dialogue on FGM/C
*Public Declarations in 6 communities
*Educational forums for target groups and
Fistula Campaign initiatives
*Establishment of and support to anti FGM/C
and GBV networks
*FGM/C abandonment has been integrated and
expanded into policies, planning and
programming:
*47 county hospitals have included prevention of
FGM/C issues during ante/postnatal/immunization
*139 health providers trained on prevention
/stopping medicalization of FGM/C
*Partnerships with religious and traditional groups
and other organizations—have been consolidated:
*Forums with religious leaders held
*Incorporated FGM/C/ Gender issues in various
church activities
*Visit by Muslim Scholars to Sudan -re-affirmed
opposition to FGM-saw are contributing to larger
movement
*5 religious edicts by Muslim (3) Christians(2) in
support of abandonment of FGM/C
*The media played a crucial role in
disseminating accurate information to
households and in creating awareness
about positive social changes occurring
within communities.
*Programmatic activities have included nonformal education to provide new
knowledge and skills, as well as nondirective dialogue amongst women, men
and across generations.
*The legal reform seen as a stronger force in
influencing behaviour and did not invest in a
certain amount of deliberation and consultation
with the core groups and organize the timeliness
of organized diffusion, prior to any attempt of
enforcement.
*In 2010-2011- 6 FGM related cases were taken to
court.
*Legal action by itself is insufficient to bring about
a change in this social convention….
*It’s important to combine the three
regulatory mechanisms: legal norms, moral
norms and social norms;
*Legislative reforms for FGM/C
abandonment should convey a sense of
“coherence” between basic local values
consistent with human rights principles;
*They should contribute to reducing the
social cost for those who oppose the social
norm
*Important to engage a variety of actors
who can play a role in preventing the
practice and changing attitudes and
behaviours.
*FGM/C is a community practice and,
consequently, is most effectively given up
the community acting together, rather than
individuals acting on their own.
*Need for a committed government that
supports elimination of FGM/C with
positive policies, effective enforcement of
legislation and provision of resources.
*Government has a role to play in
mainstreaming of FGM/C issues into
national policies, plans and programmes on
reproductive health care and poverty
eradication.
*Parliamentarians will ensure that resources
are allocated to prevention campaigns and
will be invited to sensitize their
constituencies and play a role model for
the abandonment of FGM/C.
*Communities tend to raise the issue of
FGM/C when they increase their awareness
and understanding of human rights and/or
responsibility, self-reliance and social
justice discourse.
*Community and natural leaders to support
an appreciative, non-coercive, nonjudgmental approach with focus on
enjoyment of human rights and
empowerment of women and girls.
*There is also evidence that harmonization
of social, moral and legal norms which is
consistent with human rights principles,
can lead to positively change people’s
behaviour on a large scale.
*Members of the community should have
the opportunity to express their opinion,
give arguments, counter arguments, try
various ways to think about the problem.
*Importance of supporting a genuine values
deliberation to reach an explicit and public
affirmation.
*The legal community (judges and police) will
be involved as part of a “social environment”
in which they have a role to play in order for a
large-scale change to occur.
*They would need to be sensitized on the
importance of harmonizing legal, social and
moral norms to create an environment where
large-scale change can occur.
*Equilibrating moral, social and legal norms can
be an effective method for abandonment and
change.
*Civil society organizations will have a critical role
in informing communities about the FGM Act,
support victims and educate men/youth.
*Women’s rights groups will engage neighbouring
villages and socially connected communities
through relevant social networks, so that the
decision to abandon FGM/C can be spread and
sustained.
*Diffusion will spread not only within the
residential community but also beyond it to other
communities, not always nearby, that intermarry.
*Health care providers will be encouraged to
establish a Code of Conduct and a supervision
body for preventing members of the medical
community from performing FGM/C.
*They will be trained to recognize and manage the
physical, sexual and psychological consequences
of FGM/C.
*They will also be trained on their duties to report
cases of FGM/C and keep records of FGM/C
related medical consequences to be used as
evidence for law enforcement.
*Demonstrate effectiveness in stimulating and
empowering communities towards the
abandonment of FGM/C
*Engage all sectors of the society, including
traditional, religious and government leaders.
*Mobilize young people, so as to effect a change in
perceptions of FGM/C and promote gender
equality at an earlier age.
*Use of culturally sensitive approaches and focus
on the interdependence of decision-making
*I believe that once the social norms
changes, where previously there was social
pressure to perform FGM/C, there will be
social pressure to abandon the practice.
*When the process of abandonment reaches
this point, the social norm of not cutting
will become self-enforcing and
abandonment continues swiftly and
spontaneously.