Belgian legislation regarding female genital mutilation and the implementation of the law in Belgium

Document analysis and in depth-interviews with key-informants. Estimations of prevalence of women living in Belgium that might have suffered FGM and the number of girls at risk, the female foreign population in Belgium according to nationality and age group was multiplied by the estimated prevalence in the African country of origin.

Data Collection

Author(s)

Leye Els, Deblonde Jessika

Year of data collection

2003 2004

Study population

Female foreign population from countries where FGM is practised, and key-informants

Prevalence data on FGM

The estimated prevalence of girls and women that could be affected by FGM in Belgium is 2745.

Disaggregated data per country of origin

Females with FGM or at risk of FGM are most likely coming from: - Ghana: 343,2 (69,3 aged 0-14y) - DRC: 331,2 (73,8 aged 0-14 y) - Guinea: 240,6 (47,52 aged 0-14 y) - Egypt: 224,1 (46,56 aged 0-14 y) - Ethiopia: 125 (21,25 aged 0-14 y) - Burkina Faso: 108,7 (14,4 aged 0-14 y) - Cameroon: 202,2 (31,6 aged 0-14 y) - Somalia: 193,1 (56,84 aged 0-14 y) - Nigeria: 160 (24 aged 0-14 y) - Ivory Coast: 144,1 (18,49 aged 0-14 y) - Sierra Leone (98,1 (26,1 aged 0-14 y)

Disaggregated data per age

Within the group of 2745 women that might be affected or at risk, 534 girls are in the age group that might be at risk of FGM (between 0 and 14 years of age)

Other disaggregation

Disaggregation by the 5 Belgian cities with the highest number of foreigners: - Brussels (1141,99 (206,4 aged 0-14 y) - Antwerp: 408,75 (90,05 aged 0-14 y) - Liege: 139,43 (27,02 aged 0-14 y) - Ghent: 130,13 (23,58 aged 0-14 y) - Charleroi: 17,25 (4,59 aged 0-14 y)

Limitations of study

- Estimations were based on numbers of the National Institute of Statistics (NIS), disaggregated by nationality. This does not reveal the ethnic groups to which these women belong, although ethnicity or the region where women come from would give a much more accurate picture. - These statistics do not take into account asylum seekers, women living in Belgium illegally, or African women and girls who obtained Belgian nationality - The figures of the NIS do not reflect changes in migration flows - The percentages of women with FGM in the African countries of origin are based on WHO estimations, varying in quality - Girls from 0 to 14 years, coming from a country where FGM is performed are considered to be at risk. Girls born in Belgium and having Belgian nationality are not taken into account.