433 cases of female genital mutilation detected in Portugal
In the last four years, 433 cases of female genital mutilation (FGM) were detected in Portugal, mostly carried out in Guinea-Bissau (272) and Guinea Conakry (126), with a gradual increase in the records of mutilations practiced in Senegal. Only one of them took place in national territory, in 2021, according to the Directorate-General for Health (DGS).
A report by the Division of Sexual, Reproductive, Child and Youth Health of the DGS, published this Friday, revealed that, between January 2018 and December 2021, 433 cases of female genital mutilation were detected in Portugal. On average, the mutilation took place at 8.4 years of age and many women have sequelae.
Going back to 2014, the DGS says that 668 cases of female genital mutilation were detected in Portugal, and the trend has been growing: 63 cases detected in 2018, 126 in 2019, 99 in 2020 and 138 in 2021.
Most cases (43.4%) were recorded during pregnancy surveillance, with the Lisbon and Tagus Valley Health Region units detecting almost all reported cases.
In about 75% of the cases, the mutilation occurred at the age of 9, even a trend that is maintained in relation to previous years.
According to the DGS, of the total number of registered cases, 426 cases were considered valid and there was clarification in 83.8% (357).
Consequences of excision
As for the consequences resulting from this excision, during this period, 196 women had complications, including 120 with sexual response, 120 with psychological complications, 113 with obstetric consequences and 87 with uro-gynecological sequelae.
“With the collection of this information, it is intended to make women aware of their own rights, from an educational and preventive perspective, considering that the woman will be able to prevent the harmful instructions of this practice in the community”, he explained, in a statement, to the DGS.
The DGS is committed to “deepening knowledge about the phenomenon of FGM in Portugal, effectively the quality of records”, by 2030, with a view to promoting “effective strategies to combat and eradicate FGM”. It also defines the objectives of “deepening knowledge about the sociocultural contexts that allow the practice” and the replication of female genital mutilation.
In Portugal, the monitoring of these cases is done through the Electronic Health Record – Portal do Profissional (RSE-AP) platform, which included an item on “legal framework” to find out if the woman was reached about the legality of the practice of female genital mutilation in Portugal.
According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEFF) at least 200 million teenagers and women have been visited for female genital mutilation, in 30 different countries.