Female Genital Mutilation: Information for Health-Care Professionals Working in Ireland

FGM prevalence figures from the most recent Demographic and Health Surveys (DHSs) and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICSs) and World Health organisation FGM country prevalence studies were applied to all migrant women in Ireland originating from countries where FGM is being practiced who participated in the 2006 Irish census.

Data Collection

Author(s)

Patel, Sudha

Year of data collection

Data from 2006, collated in 2008

Study population

Female migrant population originating from countries where FGM is practiced aged 15-44.

Prevalence data on FGM

Female migrant population aged 15-44 originating from countries where FGM is practiced: 9,624, from these 2,585 have most probably undergone a FGM or 26.9%.

Disaggregated data per country of origin

Over 50% of the women concerned are from Nigeria, see attached table for complete data breakdown.

Disaggregated data per age

2,585 total for those born in FGM practicing countries, who probably have undergone FGM; 541 girls/women aged 15-24 years; 2,044 women aged 25-44 years.

Limitations of study

There is a lack on information on the ethnicity of women who migrate to Ireland; as FGM is more linked to ethnicity than to nationality, this might have biased the results. In addition, this study did not take into account the influence of migration on the practice of FGM. Another limitation is the lack of information on women living illegally in Ireland. Census data is probably an underestimate as not all people participate and some data was withheld for reasons of confidentiality.