Listening to African Voices - FPZ

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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
Daughters who were born in Africa and who migrate duringchildhood to Europe often undergo the practice before arrivingin Europe. The probability depends on the age of the girlat the moment of migration and the age at which FGM/C isusually carried out in the community of origin.Daughters who were born in Germany are the lowest riskgroup. Depending on their family in the country of origin (orin France or Italy), they might be subjected to the practiceduring holidays or extended stays in the country of origin.The girls growing up in Hamburg belong – of course – tothe second and third group. The fi ndings showed that thereis a small, but considerable number of girls who underwentFGM/C before coming to Hamburg. Further, the researchteam judged that 13 daughters of immigrants were at riskfor FGM/C during trips home. This indicates that otherolder girls have already taken that path and returned toHamburg after undergoing FGM/C. There is therefore arelatively small number of girl children in Hamburg whohave been subjected to the practice or risk being subjectedto it in the future.The research could not establish any evidence that FGM/Chas been carried out in Hamburg or other locations inGermany. There were only vague indications that it could bepracticed on infants from the ethnic group of the Yoruba orIgbo of Nigerian origin.If girls are subjected to the practice, the parents prefer tosend them for an extended stay to the country of origin or,in some cases, to France. In order to determine whether aparticular girl is at risk, numerous factors have to be takeninto account. The prevalence rate of the region of originis just one of many factors. The place of residence (urban/rural), the ethnic group affiliation, the education level of theparents, the socio-demographic profile and opinions of thetwo parents, the level of integration into German way, theirattachment to their home community are just a few variablesto be assessed. The findings illustrate, however, thatthe group of girls at risk are a rather small minority. Mostimmigrants in Hamburg from practicing families abstain fromsubjecting their daughters to FGM/C for one or more of thefollowing reasons:• Fear of punishment, as the act might be discovered forexample during health check ups or swimming lessons.When immigrants have to decide between jeopardisingtheir status and continuing the practice of FGM/C,they will opt in favour of maintaining their status. Havingmigrated for labour, they have large families to supportin Africa and returning to Africa without having made afortune is not an option for them.• High level of education and integration and awarenessabout the risks and harmful consequences of FGM/C;• The other parent is from a non-practicing community andis opposed to the practice;• Lack of opportunities due to the absence of the societalsetting of the community of origin, including a network oftraditional or modern practitioners;• Flights to Africa are expensive and many immigrants don’thave the means to fl y the daughter home for this reasonexclusively;• Other more urgent preoccupations related to their statusas immigrants (e. g. linked to accommodation, residence orwork permit).Nonetheless, if a girl is from a practicing group, the risk cannever be totally eliminated.6.6. Summary of the situation of the immigrant populations(per country of origin)6.6.1. Typologies of different immigrant communitiesThe analysis of the immigrant populations by country and byregion of origin enabled to classify most countries and someparticular regions in a typology based on the three elements:the FGM/C prevalence in the country or region of origin,the proportion of women who have undergone FGM/C aswell as the degree of risk experienced by girls growing upin Hamburg that they might be subjected to the practice.For three countries – Ghana, Benin and Togo – the nationalFGM/C prevalence proved to be an unreliable indicator andpreference was given to distinguishing immigrants fromthese countries according to their region of origin.The typologies according to the three elements namedabove allow the determination of the need for interventionagainst FGM/C.• First, there are immigrant populations with a pressingneed for intervention: many women have been subjectedto the practice and might be in need of assistance and thefindings indicated the existence of girls at risk of beingsubjected to the practice.• Second, there are communities with moderate need for intervention:there is a moderate or high number of womenconcerned, but due to the level of education and integrationor other characteristics of the immigrant community,the immigrants show little or no interest in continuing topractice FGM/C.• Finally, there are immigrant populations from Sub-SaharanAfrica with little or no need for intervention: FGM/Cis not part of their cultural practices. It still makes senseto include these populations in campaigns against FGM/Cas they can make valuable contributions to the discus-90Listening to African Voices
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Cover photo: Plan/Alf Berg - “Gir
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Within the cohort of daughters of t
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• To explore the level of awarene
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12Listening to African Voices
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• Many of them are struggling to
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1 The interviewers approached diver
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that even close friends and people
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cies. 9 The table below displays th
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4.7. FGM/C in Germany4.7.1. Estimat
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illegally in Hamburg. The table is
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The largest proportions of intervie
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Reactions to the research topicThe
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A small proportion of parents annou
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Germany. Some participants reported
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Page 41 and 42: “I am against the practice. It ha
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Page 45 and 46: gin of the immigrants (see map in a
Page 47 and 48: of the Muslims believe that practic
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Page 77 and 78: that FGM/C had been carried out in
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Page 89: and an acceptable job, uniting the
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Page 107 and 108: Evaluation of girls at riskQ214 CHE
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Page 113 and 114: 8.7. Map of the geographical spread
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