Academic Programme on female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C)

By Els Leye, professor in Global Health/Gender Related Practices at the faculty of medicine at Ghent University

This lecture focuses on a EC funded project of RHEA, “Multisector academic programme to prevent and abandon female genital mutilation/cutting”. Coordinated by the Gender Observatory of the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos in Madrid, the project joined universities from 4 European countries (Belgium, Italy, Portugal, Spain) and aimed at developing and teaching several modules on FGM/C for university students. A wide variety of disciplines were included in the modules: communication and media, feminist theory and gender studies, criminal laws and asylum, medicine and midwifery/nursing, anthropology, social work, psychology and pedagogical sciences. The project developed a handbook for university professors and students, that can be used for teaching the subject of FGM/C. This seminar will present the handbook and discuss opportunities for including the topic of FGM/C in university courses.