Genital mutilation is still part of growing up for many women and girls around the world. But there are also those affected in Baden-Württemberg - and there are quite a few.
Stuttgart/Berlin (dpa/lsw) - According to estimates by the women's rights organization Terre des Femmes (TDF), more than 10,000 women and girls in Baden-Württemberg are affected by genital mutilation. According to the estimated number of unreported cases, another 1,700 are potentially at risk, as the organization announced on Thursday in Berlin. According to this estimate, more than 100,000 women and girls are affected by circumcision in Germany.
Female genital mutilation involves cutting off part or all of a young girl's external genitalia. The procedure is usually performed without anesthetic and with non-sterile objects such as razor blades or broken glass. According to the World Health Organization, around 200 million women worldwide are affected by the rite, which is widespread in Somalia and Sierra Leone, for example.
For the estimates, TDF based its estimates on the number of victims in the women's and girls' countries of origin. For the potentially vulnerable girls born in Germany, TDF calculated two scenarios based on their parents' migration history. On the one hand, the history of migration could have led to genital mutilation being carried out much less frequently. On the other hand, it could also mean that their attitudes haven't changed much and they still subject their girls to the procedure. According to the TDF, between 171 and 1542 girls in Baden-Württemberg are potentially at risk, depending on the scenario.
Girls and women without papers, women who have already been naturalized and girls with German citizenship who are at risk are not included in the data, the organization said. The actual number of unreported cases could therefore exceed the estimates.
"We urgently need improved data in Germany in order to effectively protect girls through targeted prevention and to be able to provide better care for those who are already affected," said Sonja Störmer from TDF. "These girls and women are in the middle of our society and we have to make them visible."
