Indicator 5.3.2 Proportion of girls and women aged 15–49 years who have undergone female genital mutilation/cutting, by age

5.3.2 Proportion of girls and women aged 15–49 years who have undergone female genital mutilation, by age

Target 5.3: Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)

Definition:

Proportion of girls and women aged 15-49 years who have undergone female genital mutilation.

This indicator can be measured among smaller age groups, with the experience of younger women representing FGM/C that has occurred more recently and the experience of older women representing levels of the practice in the past. At the regional and global level, this indicator is currently being reported as the proportion of adolescent girls aged 15-19 years who have undergone female genital mutilation.

Concepts:

Female genital mutilation (FGM) refers to “all procedures involving partial or total removal of the female external genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons" (World Health Organization, Eliminating Female Genital Mutilation: An interagency statement, WHO, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNIFEM, OHCHR, UNHCR, UNECA, UNESCO, UNDP, UNAIDS, WHO, Geneva, 2008, p.4)

Proportion

Household surveys such as UNICEF-supported MICS and DHS have been collecting data on this indicator in low- and middle-income countries since the late 1980s. In some countries, such data are also collected through other national household surveys.

National Statistical Offices (in most cases)

There are existing tools and mechanisms for data collection that countries have implemented to monitor the situation with regards to this indicator. The modules used to collect information on the circumcision status of girls aged 0-14 and girls and women aged 15-49 in the DHS and MICS have been fully harmonized.

Data on FGM inform policymakers of critically important variables in an effort to better understand the practice and develop policies for its abandonment. That said, these data must be analysed in light of the extremely delicate and often sensitive nature of the topic. Self-reported data on FGM need to be treated with caution for several reasons. Women may be unwilling to disclose having undergone the procedure because of the sensitivity of the issue or the illegal status of the practice in their country. In addition, women may be unaware that they have been cut or of the extent of the cutting, particularly if FGM was performed at an early age.

Data users should also keep in mind the retrospective nature of these data, which results in this indicator not being sensitive to recent change. For more details on interpretation and common pitfalls for this indicator, see: A Generation to Protect: Monitoring violence exploitation and abuse of children within the SDG framework (UNICEF 2020).

Number of girls and women aged 15-49 who have undergone FGM divided by the total number of girls and women aged 15-49 in the population multiplied by 100

2024-07-29

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)

The prevalence of female genital mutilation can be interpreted alongside other indicators about women’s well-being, including those on women’s health under Goal 3, those on the status of women under Goal 5, and those around violence against women under Goal 16.

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