Ethical considerations in research on female genital mutilation

Overview

High-quality, ethical research on female genital mutilation (FGM) is an essential component of international, national and local efforts to end the practice, enabling investors, policy-makers and programmers to make evidence-based choices to maximize the impact of interventions, while ensuring that the rights of research participants are respected.

Research on FGM has been conducted for many decades with no specific ethical guidance available as a resource for researchers, in spite of the complex range of potential risks and harms that require careful consideration, to maximize the value and impact of the research while minimizing the risks.

Research on FGM involves inquiry on a highly sensitive and frequently traumatic practice experienced by girls and women. In some practising communities, talking about the practice is taboo. Whether or how a girl or woman has undergone FGM can have a significant impact on her status, security and life opportunities. Inherent in the communities where FGM is practised are many contradictory forces, resulting in conflicting messages in support of, and in opposition to, the practice. In some settings, FGM may be illegal technically while simultaneously being considered by some leaders within the community to be obligatory.