Define: Female Circumcision

Female circumcision, also known as female genital mutilation (FGM), is a harmful practice involving the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. This procedure is typically performed on girls before puberty, often without their consent, and can cause severe physical and psychological health consequences. Female circumcision is widely recognised as a violation of human rights and a form of gender-based violence, with no medical benefits. Efforts to eradicate the practice involve raising awareness, implementing laws and policies prohibiting FGM, and providing support to communities to abandon the harmful tradition.

This was made an offence by the Prohibition of female circumcision act (1985). It is not a defence to say that the victim gave consent, which puts it on the same footing as other Offences against the person that cause injury whose severity is equal to, or greater than, ABH. However, male circumcision is one of the class of activities in which consent can be used as a defence; others include aggressive sports and surgery. The distinction seems to be that female circumcision was widely practised among certain ethnic groups, and women were too scared to deny consent. In addition, male circumcision may serve a medical benefit, while this is never true of female circumcision.

Female genital mutilation (FGM), also known as female genital cutting (FGC), female circumcision or female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C), is any procedure involving the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or another injury to the female genital organs “whether for cultural, religious or other non-therapeutic reasons.” The term is almost exclusively used to describe traditional or religious procedures on a minor, which requires the parents’ consent because of the age of the girl.

When the procedure is performed on and with the consent of an adult it is generally called clitoridectomy, or it may be part of labiaplasty or vaginoplasty. It also generally does not refer to procedures used in gender reassignment surgery, and the genital modification of intersexuals.

FGC is practised throughout the world, with the practise concentrated most heavily in Asia and Africa. Opposition is motivated by concerns regarding the consent (or lack thereof, in most cases) of the patient, and subsequently the safety and long-term consequences of the procedures. In the past several decades, there have been many concentrated efforts by the World Health Organization (WHO) to end the practice of FGC. The United Nations has also declared February 6 as “International Day Against Female Genital Mutilation”

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This glossary post was last updated: 29th March 2024.