female genital mutilation
Let an agent explain female genital mutilation factually and respectfully, relay WHO classification, health consequences, prevalence, law and prevention from WHO, UNICEF and legal sources, route any girl or woman at risk to police, child protection services and FGM helplines, support survivors to specialist clinics without judgement, and never provide procedural detail or facilitation.
Research draft, second pass
A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.
written by Claude from model knowledge without web access - no source was read, every claim is a lead to verify
Researched by: Claude
Purpose and description
Let an agent explain female genital mutilation factually and respectfully, relay WHO classification, health consequences, prevalence, law and prevention from WHO, UNICEF and legal sources, route any girl or woman at risk to police, child protection services and FGM helplines, support survivors to specialist clinics without judgement, and never provide procedural detail or facilitation.
All procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons, classified by WHO into Type 1 clitoridectomy, Type 2 excision, Type 3 infibulation and Type 4 other harmful procedures, practised in parts of Africa, the Middle East and Asia and in diaspora communities, with WHO and UNICEF estimating over 230 million women and girls alive having undergone it; it causes serious short and long-term harm, is recognised internationally as a human rights violation, and is illegal in many countries including the United Kingdom and the Gambia. The registry alias clitoral hood reduction usually denotes a cosmetic surgical procedure whose classification is debated.
What it is for: Not applicable; a harmful practice and human rights violation.
It can be explain classification and harms; relay law and prevention; route people at risk to protection services; point survivors to specialist care.
Distinguishing features
No health benefit
Serious harms
Human rights violation
Illegal in many countries
What it looks like
Not a visible object; a harmful practice.
Physical character
women and girls affected: over 230 million people - WHO and UNICEF 2024 estimate
International Day of Zero Tolerance: February 6 date
UK Female Genital Mutilation Act: 2003 year
Gambia ban: 2015 year - upheld in 2024 after a repeal attempt
How it is recognised
Non-medical injury or removal of female genitalia
Clitoridectomy, clitoris excision, infibulation, FGM in the Gambia, FGM in the UK, clitoral hood reduction
Consensual adult cosmetic genital surgery is regulated separately and debated; intersex surgeries raise distinct issues; male circumcision is a separate topic
Related models
is a kind of - in registry terms
is addressed by - classification and guidance
violates -
is contrasted with - cosmetic surgery, debated classification
In practice
Families and kinds
Type 1 clitoridectomy
Type 2 excision
Type 3 infibulation
Type 4 other harmful procedures
national legal and prevalence contexts
Standards and regulation
WHO guidelines on management of complications
UN General Assembly resolutions on FGM
National laws such as the UK FGM Act 2003 and the Gambia Women s Amendment Act 2015
Maputo Protocol
Failure modes and hazards
Procedural detail or facilitation, which is out of scope
Stigmatising survivors or whole communities
Missing a girl at imminent risk
Also called
Where this came from
wikidata · CC0 1.0
Drafted structure
Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions.
Understand What FGM is.
Attribution.
Definition
Definition.
Definition
Definition.
- What is female genital mutilation, and how do the WHO types differ? definition
- Is a girl or woman at risk now, in which case contact police, child protection or an FGM helpline immediately? boundary
Terms
Named terms and contexts.
Terms
Terms.
- What do clitoridectomy, excision and infibulation mean, how is FGM addressed in the Gambia and UK, and why is clitoral hood reduction debated? definition
- Which entry fits the specific context? action
Health Health consequences.
Attribution.
Harms
Harms.
Harms
Harms.
- What short and long-term health harms does WHO describe? provenance
- Which references are standard? provenance
Care
Survivor care.
Care
Care.
- What specialist care, including deinfibulation and psychological support, is available to survivors? provenance
- Which sources are cited? provenance
Law Law and prevention.
Regulation.
Laws
Laws.
Laws
Laws.
- How do national laws prohibit FGM, including protection orders and mandatory reporting in the UK? provenance
- Which entry fits Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003? action
Prevention
Prevention.
Prevention
Prevention.
- What community-led prevention approaches do UNICEF and survivor advocates describe? provenance
- Which entry fits UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on FGM? action
Context Prevalence and advocacy.
Context.
Prevalence
Prevalence.
Prevalence
Prevalence.
- How is prevalence measured, and how is it changing, checked against current sources? provenance
- Which entry fits Demographic and Health Surveys? action
Advocacy
Survivor advocacy.
Advocacy
Advocacy.
- Which survivor-led organisations campaign against FGM? provenance
- Which entry fits International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM? action
What the second pass must settle
- Should national contexts be separate entries?
- How should WHO and UNICEF data be linked and kept current?
- How should the classification of cosmetic procedures such as clitoral hood reduction be recorded?