Peer-reviewed article
Public Health Research Priorities to Address Female Genital Mutilation or Cutting in the United States
Holly G. Atkinson, Deborah Ottenheimer, Ranit Mishori ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This paper identifies female genital mutilation or cutting (FGM/C) as an emerging public health issue in the United States affecting over 513,000 immigrant women and girls. The authors document significant gaps in understanding the scale of the problem and the evidence base for interventions to prevent or address FGM/C. They propose a research agenda to guide public health priorities in addressing this form of child protection concern among immigrant communities.
Key points
- More than 513,000 immigrant women and girls in the US have undergone or are at risk for FGM/C, a threefold increase from 1990 estimates of 168,000
- FGM/C is occurring in the United States, as evidenced by arrests of physicians in Michigan in 2017 for performing the practice on minors
- Major gaps exist in understanding the magnitude of FGM/C in the US and in scientific data informing preventive, clinical, educational, and legal interventions
- The paper catalogs research gaps and proposes a research agenda for public health experts, researchers, clinicians and stakeholders
Limitations
This paper identifies research gaps and proposes priorities but does not evaluate specific interventions or present empirical findings on effectiveness of prevention or treatment approaches. It does not provide detailed data on the characteristics of affected populations or the contexts in which FGM/C occurs in the US.
Abstract
Female genital mutilation or cutting (FGM/C), an age-old tradition that is still widely practiced around the world, is gaining recognition as an important public health issue in the United States. Increasingly, because of migration, women and girls affected by FGM/C have become members of host communities where the practice is not culturally acceptable.According to recent conservative estimates, more than 513 000 immigrant women and girls living in the United States have undergone or are at risk for FGM/C, a significant increase from the 1990 estimate of 168 000. The arrests of physicians in Michigan in 2017 for performing FGM/C on minors underscores the fact that cutting is happening in the United States.We have identified numerous gaps in our understanding of the magnitude of the problem in the United States and in the availability of scientific data informing a variety of interventions (preventive, clinical, educational, legal). We catalog these major gaps and propose a research agenda that can help public health experts, researchers, clinicians, and other stakeholders to establish priorities as we confront FGM/C as an important health issue affecting hundreds of thousands of women and girls in the United States.