How to talk about FGM?

Female genital mutilation affects women from every continent and from every socio-economic class.  The reasons behind its practice are very diverse and vary according to the origin. Each woman has a different experience and a different narrative regarding FGM.

The media in general and journalists in particular play an important role in the fight to end FGM because they have access to a wide and diverse audience, which we find more difficult to reach.

It is advisable to talk about an issue as sensitive as female genital mutilation without the need of stigmatising or re-victimising those who have undergone it. Let’s seek the truth, we can denounce it but let’s do it by minimising the damage done to the survivors.

Save a Girl Save a Generation is part of the END FGM EUROPEAN NETWORK which consists of 27 organisations working in 14 European countries. This network has created a working group in which we are participating in order to address the need to improve the language used by the different types of media (press, politicians, organisations) when talking about female genital mutilation. The outcome of this work is the guide that we are presenting to you. We hope that this guide will serve us all as a useful tool in our daily work to raise awareness.

Download it, read it, implement it and share it.