Female Genital Mutilation – a European Problem Where, Why and What Are the Mental Health Effects

Abstract

Today's migration is an integral part of our globalized and interconnected world, but at the same time, it is also seen as one of the most difficult challenges facing our societies. Many European countries are becoming multicultural at an unprecedented rate. In addition to the positive aspects that non-European cultures bring to Europe, certain practices go against European principles and values, such as female genital mutilation. FGM is a flagrant violation of women's rights and is considered a crime in all EU member states. According to the statements of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), on January 31, 2022, approximately 500,000 women in the EU and approximately 200 million women (adults and minors) in 31 countries worldwide have undergone some form of genital mutilation. In this article, we make an overall analysis of the migration phenomenon in the EU and how the practice of FGM can become a European problem, especially through the physical and mental health complications that appear as a result of the mutilation, as it emerges from a series of studies carried out over time in the field.