Peer-reviewed article
Estimating the indirect prevalence of female genital mutilation/cutting in Switzerland
Sara Cottler-Casanova, Jasmine Abdulcadir ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study estimates how many women and girls living in Switzerland have experienced or are at risk of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C). Researchers applied prevalence data from 30 countries where FGM/C is common to immigrant populations from those countries now living in Switzerland. The estimates show that between 2010 and 2018, the number of affected or at-risk women and girls nearly tripled from about 9,000 to nearly 22,000, mainly due to increased migration from high-prevalence countries.
Key points
- In 2010, approximately 9,059 women and girls in Switzerland were living with or at risk of FGM/C
- By 2018, this number had increased to an estimated 21,706 women and girls
- The increase was driven by growth in migrant populations from 30 countries where FGM/C is traditionally practiced
- The study used DHS (Demographic and Health Survey) and MICS (Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey) prevalence data applied to immigrant populations
- The method applied prevalence figures from women and girls' countries of origin to estimate the affected population in Switzerland
Limitations
This is an indirect estimate based on applying prevalence data from origin countries to immigrant populations; it does not measure actual FGM/C prevalence among women and girls in Switzerland through direct data collection. The method assumes that prevalence in origin countries applies equally to migrants, which may not account for differences in practices over time or migration selection effects.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: We updated the indirect estimates for women and girls living with Female Genital Mutilation Cutting (FGM/C) in Switzerland, using data from the Swiss Federal Statistical Office of migrant women and girls born in one of the 30 high-prevalence FGM/C countries that are currently living in Switzerland. METHODS: We used Yoder and Van Baelen's "Extrapolation of FGM/C Countries' Prevalence Data" method, where we applied DHS and MICS prevalence figures from the 30 countries where FGM/C is practiced, and applied them to the immigrant women and girls living in Switzerland from the same 30 countries. RESULTS: In 2010, the estimated number of women and girls living with or at risk of FGM/C in Switzerland was 9059, whereas in 2018, we estimated that 21,706 women and girls were living with or at risk of FGM/C. CONCLUSION: Over the past decade, there have been significant increases in the number of estimated women and girls living with or at risk of FGM/C in Switzerland due to the increase in the total number of women and girls originally coming form the countries where the practice of FGM/C is traditional.