Listening to African Voices - FPZ

7RecommendationsThese recommendations are the foundation for an actionplan against FGM/C within immigrant communities fromSub-Saharan Africa in Hamburg. They take into accountthe recommendations of the African community membersinterviewed during the research. The recommendations arebased on a behaviour change model presented on page 98.The chapter is structured into four domains. More detailedinformation on each of the domains is provided in the followingsections:• the context of the action plan, outlining the targetgroups and supporting factors and barriers for the implementationof the action plan;• the preparatory stage which gives an overview of whomto involve in the action plan against FGM/C in Hamburg,and how to involve them;• the implementation of the action plan including themain actors and their roles;• the previewed outputs, outcomes and impact at thelevel of the target population.More detailed information on each of the domains is providedin the following sections.7.1. Recommendations regarding the context of the actionplanWe propose to focus on men and women with roots inpracticing ethnic groups and families as primary targetgroups. The immigrant communities with moderate and highintervention needs (high: Nigeria, Guinea, Gambia, Centraland Northern Togo, Northern Benin and Burkina Faso; moderate:Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Kenya, Northern Ghana) shouldreceive particular attention and resources. It is recommendedthat stakeholders from each of the communities be encouragedto write up a specific action plan for their community.The secondary target groups should all be immigrant communitiesfrom Sub-Saharan Africa, including low-risk communities(Southern Ghana, Southern Togo, Southern Benin,Cameroon and Niger) as well as small immigrant populationsfrom areas of high prevalence (e.g. Sudan, Eritrea). As thesecommunities either fall into a low risk category or are representedin small numbers, the members of these communitiescan be targeted with sporadic large-scale awareness raisingevents.The supporting factors should include the large proportionof immigrants who are against the practice. They can supportthe implementation of activities, disseminate informationat community level and establish so-called watch-dogcommittees inside their communities that accompany andprovide guidance to families that are considering subjectingtheir daughters to FGM/C.The implications of the barriers outlined below are multifoldedand generate the following recommendations.• The development and implementation of the action planshould take place under African leadership. German andinternational organisations can provide technical and financialsupport, but should abstain from becoming involved infrontline activities.• The “approach of proximity” should be respected for allcommunity based interventions (as far as possible). The“approach of proximity” has been identified as a best practiceof projects against FGM/C in Africa and consists ofselecting community facilitators who have the same sociodemographicand ethno-linguistic profile than the targetpopulation. To approach the members of the Muslimcommunities from Northern Benin, for instance, it is crucialthat the activities against FGM/C be lead by immigrantswho come from the same area, who speak the same orsimilar local languages and dialects and who share thesame cultural traditions. This implies that the immigrantcommunity from each Sub-Saharan country needs at leastone community facilitator responsible for the implementationof activities against FGM/C in his/her community.The recommendations from African community membersincluded opting for community facilitators whom otherslisten to and who have a certain amount of life experience.Women who have undergone FGM/C but have decided tobreak with the tradition are ideal candidates.• As FGM/C is a very sensitive issue of little interest tomost immigrants, it is recommended that a multi-sectorialapproach be used. The multi-sectorial approach has beenrecognised as another best practice in Africa. Instead offocusing on a single issue, the project integrates FGM/Cin a series of other project topics that respond to variousneeds of the target population. This approach helps tobuild a relationship of trust with the project participantsbefore addressing delicate topics such as FGM/C. Otherkey topics to be addressed with female and male immigrantsfrom Sub-Saharan Africa could be reproductivehealth care, family planning, on-the-job training,computer classes, assistance with immigration issues andany other needs expressed by the targeted immigrantpopulations.Listening to African Voices 95