Advancing Research on the Consequences of Female Genital Cutting

Gilda Sedgh, Harvard University
Nahla Abdel-Tawab, Population Council
Barbara Ibrahim, Population Council

Nearly two million girls and young women around the world undergo female genital cutting (FGC) each year. The past decade has witnessed a proliferation of social movements seeking to eradicate this practice, with threats to women's psychological, reproductive, and sexual health cited among the rationales for this position. While there are plausible mechanisms for a number of these associations, many claims regarding the health risks associated with FGC are unsubstantiated by scientific research. The dearth of practical knowledge about the risks associated with FGC represents an important constraint to the FGC eradication movement. This paper reviews the scientific evidence regarding the consequences of FGC, proposes a research agenda for bridging the salient knowledge gaps regarding the consequences of FGC, and presents findings from in-depth discussions with scientists in this field to identify the methodological and ethical issues that pose the greatest challenges to conducting scientifically sound FGC research.