Listening to African Voices - FPZ

however, that awareness was significantly lower amongimmigrants from practicing families than among familiesby whom FGM/C is not carried out. The level of awarenessof men and women was comparable although men frompracticing families showed less knowledge than women frompracticing families. The level of education plays a role: thedegree of awareness increases with the education level. Theimmigrant communities with the lowest level of awarenesscome from two countries with very high prevalence rates:Guinea and Gambia. This might be due to the relatively loweducation level of immigrants from these two countries. Menfrom Nigeria also showed a relatively low level of awareness.The knowledge of harm and risks was particularly highamong immigrants from Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Togo,Kenya and Ethiopia.6.4. Do they know that practices such as FGM/C areillegal in Germany?There is a strong awareness among immigrant populationsthat FGM/C is not tolerated in Germany. The awareness wasslightly lower among women from practicing groups andgenerally lower in practicing families from high prevalencecountries in West Africa.The court cases in France in which parents and practitionersof FGM/C were condemned have not gone unnoticed. Othercases of prosecution have also become public and the mediaand word-of-mouth communication have helped to spreadthe word. Although most of the immigrants have no specificknowledge of how the German legal system considers orrefers to FGM/C, they know that “the Germans are againstit.” Furthermore, many immigrants from Sub-Saharan Africahave had recurrent adverse experiences of how strictly therules and regulations are applied in Germany (passport andticket controls, restrictions of their residence permit). Theyquickly assimilate that – unlike in their country of origin– there is little or no room for negotiation when rules arebroken.These experiences combined with the knowledge thatFGM/C is condemned by Europeans have a strong dissuasiveeffect on practicing families. They fear that subjectingtheir daughters to the practice could jeopardise their status,so they opt either to abstain from the practice or to sendthe girl to the country of origin in order to subject her toFGM/C.6.5. How many girls and women have undergoneFGM/C?6.5.1. The proportion of adult women who have undergoneFGM/CThe results of the current study indicate that about 30% ofthe total immigrant women population in Hamburg has undergoneFGM/C. The prevalence rate of the country of originis not always a reliable indicator. While it worked well forcountries with high prevalence rates (> 70%), it proved tobe misleading for women and girl populations from countrieswith low and moderate prevalence rates:• Countries of origin with high prevalence rates: Theprevalence rate among the women interviewed who werefrom countries with a high prevalence of FGM/C such asGuinea and Gambia was comparable to the prevalence rateof the country of origin.• Countries of origin with low to moderate prevalencerates: The prevalence rates are of little use when estimatingthe number of immigrant women concerned. InHamburg, the prevalence rates among women immigrantsfrom some countries is much higher than the nationalprevalence rate of the country of origin. In Nigeria, forexample, the national prevalence rate is about 30%. Mostimmigrants living in Hamburg, however, come from thestrongly practicing Southern regions, and at least 50% ofthe women of Nigerian origin in Hamburg have undergoneFGM/C. Similar tendencies became apparent among Togoleseand Beninese women.6.5.2. The proportion of girls who have undergone FGM/Cor who are at risk of being subjected to the practice(< 18 years)The prevalence rates of the countries of origin are not auseful indicator for determining the number of girls livingin Hamburg who have been subjected to the practice. Inthe cohort of immigrants’ daughters, the proportion of girlsconcerned is significantly lower. Nevertheless, an importantdistinction has to be made between (1) daughters who grewup in the country of origin, (2) daughters who were born inAfrica and who migrated with their parents to Europe and(3) daughters who were born in Germany.Daughters of practicing families who grew up in the countryof origin have little or no protection from FGM/C. The migratingparent is often not even informed when the daughteris subjected to the practice. As a consequence, the numberof circumcised daughters growing up in Africa among immigrantsfrom Gambia, Guinea, Mali or Nigeria is high.Listening to African Voices 89