WHO — Female genital mutilation (fact sheet)

What the study found

The World Health Organization's fact sheet on female genital mutilation (FGM) sets out the organisation's position on the practice. It states that FGM has no health benefits, that it involves removing and damaging healthy and normal female genital tissue and interferes with the natural functions of girls' and women's bodies, and that the practice is a violation of the human rights of girls and women. ^[1]

FGM has no health benefits, and it harms girls and women in many ways

^[1]

Why it matters here

This fact sheet is the WHO's formal characterisation of female genital mutilation specifically: a practice with no health benefits that damages healthy female tissue and violates human rights. It is cited on is male circumcision genital mutilation? because that comparison turns on how FGM itself is defined by health authorities. Readers can weigh the WHO's definition of FGM against the separate question of how male circumcision should be classified.