In 29 countries1 the prevalence of FGM has been measured using a standard survey method
developed by the Demographic Health Survey (DHS), published by MACRO, or the Multiple
Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS), published by UNICEF. In other countries, there is only anecdotal
evidence as is the case for Colombia (UNFPA, 2012), United Arab Emirates (Kvello and Sayed,
2002, as cited in WHO, 2008), Oman (Mubarak, 2013), Brunei (Begawan, 2012), Iran (Südwind,
2014), Malaysia (Isa et al., 1999), Israel (Asali et al., 1995), Congo (UNHCR, 2013), Thailand
(Merli, 2012) and parts of Indonesia (Budiharsana, 2004).
In Europe, the overall prevalence of FGM is unknown, as there is no standardized method to
estimate the magnitude of the problem in each Member States by producing comparable and
representative data.
This report provides an overview and discussion of the findings of the project “Towards a
better estimation of prevalence of female genital mutilation in the European Union” (FGMPREV).
The general aim of the project was to develop a common definition on FGM prevalence
and a common methodology to estimate FGM prevalence that can be used throughout the EU.
The project was funded by the DAPHNE program of the European Commission and was
conducted by the International Centre for Reproductive Health at Ghent University in Belgium,
the Department of Sociology of the Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca in Italy and the
Institut National d’Etudes Démographiques in Paris. The project was implemented from
November 15th, 2014 to March 15th, 2017 and was supported by a steering committee that
consisted of experts in the field of FGM /prevalence studies2.