Engaging stakeholders and audiences with the roots and routes of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) discourses

Lead Research Organisation: University of Bristol
Department Name: Sociology

Abstract

The WHO defines FGM as any injury to or removal of the female genitalia for non-medical reasons (WHO 2018). FGM violates several human rights, including the right to being free from violence and discrimination, the right to health, bodily integrity, and, potentially, to life (UNICEF 2005). In many contexts, FGM precedes early marriage and school dropout (Cloward 2016). Beyond health and psychological implications, the WHO (2020) estimates that the current and future financial cost of health care for circumcised women is 1.4 billion USD. While the anti-FGM campaign has made significant progress in ending FGM in some contexts, in other places, FGM remains nearly as common today as it was 30 years ago (UNICEF 2020, 4).
My doctoral thesis demonstrates that the globally dominant anti-FGM discourse - as promoted by the UN and adhered to by most civil society actors - fails to include and reflect the multiple and diverse experiences of FGM- affected communities. This failure is an important reason why anti-FGM interventions do not yield the hoped-for results: people are less likely to support interventions that do not resonate with their experiences. Scholars have meticulously documented the diversity of meanings, reasons, types, and attitudes related to FGM (i.a. Gruenbaum 2001; Nnaemeka 2005; Abusharaf 2006; Abdulcadir et al. 2012; Longman and Bradley 2015), but this knowledge has not adequately translated into changed policy and approaches.
My doctoral research used an innovative, multi-sited ethnography to "follow" knowledge ("discourses"), policies, and approaches on their travels between FGM-affected communities, NGOs, UN agencies, governments, and academics. My goal was to understand what is required to ensure that the voices and experiences of people from FGM-affected communities are included in anti-FGM policy, advocacy, and programmes. My research identified the "obstructions" that complicate or impede these alternative voices, experiences, and perspectives from actually influencing and changing the dominant anti-FGM discourse and the approaches that were built on it. Understanding these "obstructions" will allow policy- and programme-makers to make policy and programmes more inclusive and reflective of people's experiences and, thus, more effective in encouraging the abandonment of FGM.
The Fellowship will allow me to disseminate my findings to stakeholders concerned with FGM to make anti-FGM efforts more inclusive and effective. To maximise impact, I will expand my network with academic and non-academic actors and make insights available to the general public through blog posts. Furthermore, the Fellowship will allow me to contribute to academic debates by publishing my findings and, in doing so, I will develop my track record. I will conduct urgently-needed follow-up research on a public declaration to abandon FGM made in Loita, Kenya, in 2019. Finally, the Fellowship will help me develop my academic career by participating in career development opportunities and applying for my subsequent research funding.
The University of Bristol is the perfect host research organisation for my project. PolicyBristol, the Perivoli Africa Research Centre, and the University's partnership with UNFPA offer unique opportunities for networking, sharing findings, and collaborating on future research. My mentors Saffron Karlsen and Mhairi Gibson bring substantial expertise on FGM to my project through their research and supervision of postgraduate and postdoctoral students. I draw from my interdisciplinary background (sociology, anthropology, gender studies) and chose the interdisciplinary pathway and mentors from different disciplines because I believe human rights issues such as FGM require different disciplinary perspectives. For that reason, I aim to bring together Bristol researchers from different disciplines and faculties working on FGM and related issues to stimulate cross-disciplinary and -faculty collaboration on the topic.
 
Description Aim 1: Develop track record by producing publications based on doctoral research
I finalised the publication of two journal articles which were under preparation before the start of the grant. I authored and published a third article during the duration of the grant, and I have started writing a fourth article which I will send out for peer review before April 2023.


I am collaborating with Dr Natasha Carver (University of Bristol) and Dr Dorothy Takyiakwaa (University of Cape Coast, Ghana) to develop an edited volume that critically interrogates the hegemonic discourse on female genital mutilation/cutting.
Unique networking, collaboration, and policy engagement opportunities (see below) emerged during this fellowship, which I temporarily prioritised over the publication of my PhD thesis as a monography. However, I was awarded funding from the Academic Development Fund at UoB to finalise my book proposal, which I intend to do before September 2023.
Aim 2: Follow-up research on FGM among Loita Maasai, Kenya
Due to covid-19 related travel restrictions, I did not travel to Kenya but instead trained a research assistant and community researchers online to collect data on how the public declaration to abandon FGM/C among the Maasai community of the Loita Hills in February 2019 has influenced FGM/C in the community. We are currently co-authoring an article based on the findings.
I am also co-investigator on a research project on environmental change and its interlinkages with gender-based violence among that same community. The project is led by principal investigator Prof Katrina Brown (University of Exeter) and in collaboration with the Kenyan NGO and British charity SAFE Maa. SAFE Maa works to raise awareness on HIV/AIDS, FGM/C, and environmental change. I have worked with them since 2017. This project aims to develop an art-based methodology to raise awareness on and better understand the interlinkages between environmental change and gender-based violence.

Aim 3: Expand network with academic, policy, and advocacy actors working on (issues related to) FGM/C and use the network to disseminate key findings and policy implications
I initiated a partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and established the Alternative Rites of Passage (ARP) Working Group. ARP are a development strategy to end FGM/C by mimicking the traditional rite of passage of which FGM/C is often a part but without the cut. ARP are gaining popularity among development practitioners, but their effectiveness remains uncertain. The ARP Working Group is a collaboration between UoB, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and independent facilitator, researcher and evaluator Katy Newell-Jones. The ARP Working Group has organised two "open dialogue" webinars (both attended by +/- 50 participants) in which researchers, development practitioners, and policymakers had an honest conversation about what we know and don't know about ARP and their role in FGM/C abandonment. Nafissatou Diop, Chief of Gender and Human Rights Branch at UNFPA, gave the opening word to both webinars. The webinars were attended by researchers, development practitioners, and policymakers from across Africa, including UNFPA and UNICEF representatives, NGOs and CBOs, activists, and representatives of Kenya's Anti-FGM Board.

I received funding from the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute Global Health Strand at UoB for the second webinar. The funding was used to give honorariums to facilitators and presenters, and to cover internet and other costs to ensure equal opportunities to participate.

The executive summary, shared learning document, and policy discussion paper can be found here: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/policybristol/policy-briefings/alternative-rites-passage/.

I also developed and continue to host an information hub on the topic: https://arps.blogs.bristol.ac.uk.

I was invited to serve as a panellist and moderator at the United Nations Expert Meeting on FGM/C Research and Data in Nairobi, March 2022. I was invited to be a member of the Expert Scientific Peer-Review Committee that advises the UN Joint Programme on FGM/C Research and Data.

I initiated an interfaculty and interdisciplinary network of the University of Bristol (UoB) scholars working on female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C). The network meets ad hoc to discuss and collaborate on FGM/C-related research projects. Through this network, I became a co-investigator on two studies. The first is funded by the Social Sciences & Law Major Initiatives Strategic Research Fund 2021/22 at the University of Bristol (PI: Prof Saffron Karlsen), and aims to co-develop with FMG/C-affected communities in the UK tools to enable more reliable estimates of FGC/M prevalence in the UK. The second project is funded by Temple Quarter Engagement Fund (PI: Prof Christina Pantazis) and maps the availability of services for women living with FGM/C in Bristol, as well as these women's needs.

I am collaborating with Dr Natasha Carver (UoB) and Dr Dorothy Takyiakwaa (University of Cape Coast, Ghana) to develop an edited volume or special issue that critically interrogates the hegemonic discourse on FGM/C. We were awarded a Bristol International Research Collaboration Award for Dr Takyiakwaa to join us in Bristol to co-author an article, apply for funding, and strategise the development of the book or journal issue.

Aim 4: Plan academic career development with Bristol Clear and obtain funding for further research
I have actively worked on my academic development and career progression with the support of my mentors, colleagues, and resources offered by Bristol Clear. I obtained a place on the Academic Writing Programme at the University of Bristol, which supports with identifying and working towards career development goals.
I have developed and submitted a research proposal for the ESRC New Investigator scheme.
Exploitation Route The dissemination of my research and the ARP Working Group and its outcomes are relevant to anti-FGM/C stakeholders, including UN agencies, governments, and NGOs.
Sectors Communities and Social Services/Policy,Government, Democracy and Justice
URL http://www.bristol.ac.uk/policybristol/policy-briefings/alternative-rites-passage/
 
Description Member of the Expert Scientific Peer-Review Committee that advises the UN Joint Programme on FGM/C on FGM/C Research and Data
Geographic Reach Multiple continents/international 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
URL https://drive.google.com/file/d/1L-_DJ1xM8M_jxlOAJaq8fxEDoRAh9sFi/view
 
Description Bristol International Research Collaboration Activities
Amount £2,237 (GBP)
Organisation University of Bristol 
Sector Academic/University
Country United Kingdom
Start 02/2023 
End 01/2024
 
Description Career Developmente Fund
Amount £14,350 (GBP)
Organisation University of Bristol 
Sector Academic/University
Country United Kingdom
Start 02/2023 
End 09/2023
 
Description Global Public Health workshop call 2 (2022)
Amount £3,500 (GBP)
Organisation University of Bristol 
Department Elizabeth Blackwell Institute for Health Research
Sector Academic/University
Country United Kingdom
Start 02/2022 
End 09/2022
 
Description Social Sciences & Law Major Initiatives Strategic Research Fund
Amount £12,202 (GBP)
Organisation University of Bristol 
Sector Academic/University
Country United Kingdom
Start 05/2022 
End 08/2022
 
Description Temple Quarter Engagement Fund
Amount £5,000 (GBP)
Funding ID D100116-124 
Organisation University of Bristol 
Sector Academic/University
Country United Kingdom
Start 05/2022 
End 10/2022
 
Description Wellcome Centre Cultures + Environments of Health
Amount £30,000 (GBP)
Organisation Wellcome Trust 
Sector Charity/Non Profit
Country United Kingdom
Start 02/2023 
End 09/2023
 
Description Co-I on "Understanding what support and advice services are available to people affected by Female Genital Cutting/Mutilation (FGC/M) in Bristol" 
Organisation University of Bristol
Department School for Policy Studies
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution This research investigates the current provision of support and advice for individuals and families affected by FGC/M and safeguarding approaches; the support and advice accessed by individuals and families; and the support and advice needed by FGC/M-affected individuals and families. As a co-investigator on this project, I participate in the bi-weekly team meeting, and assist with coding and data analysis.
Collaborator Contribution The project is funded by Temple Quarter Engagement Fund and led by PI Christina Pantazis (Professor of Zemiology, University of Bristol). The other co-investigators are Natasha Carver (Lecturer in International Criminology, School for Policy Studies, UoB), Saffron Karlsen (Associate Professor in Sociology, School of Sociology, Politics, and International Studies, UoB); Magda Mogilnicka (Lecturer in Sociology, School of Sociology, Politics, and International Studies, UoB).
Impact The collaboration is multidisciplinary and involves scholars from the School of Policy Studies, Criminology, and the School of Sociology, Politics, and International Studies. The project will result in peer-reviewed journal articles.
Start Year 2022
 
Description Co-I on Wellcome Centre Cultures + Environments of Health project 
Organisation University of Exeter
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Empowering Loita's Girls: Breaking the vicious cycle of Gender-based Violence and the Climate Crisis Co-I Hannelore Van Bavel is a Senior Research Associate in Social Anthropology at the University of Bristol . Since 2018, she has worked closely with S.A.F.E. Maa on various ethnographic studies on changes in Female Genital Cutting in the Loita Hill, as well as the role of S.A.F.E. Maa and other actors in influencing these changes. She will use her experience to help in project design, take part in workshops to synthesise the findings, and co-author academic publications arising from the project.
Collaborator Contribution Katrina Brown UoE, is the PI on the project. Kate is Professor Emerita in Geography with extensive experience of interdisciplinary and international collaborative research and is author of more than 250 articles (GS) . Over more than two decades, she has developed key insights into the causes of persistent poverty and climate change. Kate also brings an enduring commitment to transdisciplinary research and expertise in social dynamics and climate change. She worked with S.A.F.E. to develop 'Gangavasi', a Forum Theatre drama that enables communities to find solutions to extreme weather events associated with the climate crisis. Findings have been disseminated through academic publications and conferences, and with policy makers on climate change adaptation. Kate is a Trustee of S.A.F.E. Kenya and enthusiastically supports their work. S.A.F.E. Maa is one of three teams of S.A.F.E. Kenya. They have pioneered cultural interventions on Female Genital Cutting (FGC) in the Loita Hills in Kenya. When they started working on FGC in 2010, 99% of girls underwent Type 2 cutting . They used traditional song and dance to engage communities in discussions about this formerly taboo subject and have worked with circumcisers to develop the 'Loita Rite of Passage' (LRP), an alternative rite of passage that mimics the traditional initiation ceremony but without cutting. By 2015, 30% of girls who graduated passed through the LRP rather than FGC. In 2019 S.A.F.E. Maa convened 42 cultural leaders to endorse a declaration of abandonment . S.A.F.E. Maa have had astounding success in combatting FGC and have built trustful and respectful relationships with communities. The S.A.F.E. Maa team are made up of young Maasai and their status gives credibility to the work whilst protecting the integrity of traditional Maasai culture . Co-I Alice Crookenden, interim Head of S.A.F.E. Kenya, will be the key person managing the project from S.A.F.E. Previously as Programme Director, Alice managed projects within S.A.F.E. across sexual health, water and sanitation, resilience, countering extremism, FGC abandonment and environmental resilience. Alice will work closely with the S.A.F.E. Maa Project Manager, a Maasai woman and survivor of FGC. Co-I Sarah Tenoi initiated and co-designed the FGC abandonment project and has been responsible for both ensuring that the needs of women were met and gaining women's trust and support. Sarah will be vital to ensuring that the project is led and owned by, and accessible to, community members.
Impact The project started in February 2023. There are no outputs yet, but the anticipated outputs are a new (documented) methodology for S.A.F.E. to address climate change and its links to gender-based violence, and at least 2 peer-reviewed articles. The project will have a number of impacts and outcomes, in the immediate, short and longer term. First, for communities who engage directly in the project, it will support them to explore the linkages between environmental crises and girls' health and wellbeing through experiences of early marriage, being taken out of school, and FGC. The project will empower the local community to see the linkages between daily activities and their vulnerability to climate change. They can identify the different impacts and the extent to which local actions exacerbate them, e.g. how deforestation affects water supplies and worsens the effects of drought. They can discuss how gender inequality in education and decision-making is making the whole community vulnerable and undermining their capacity to deal with changes and extreme events wrought by climate disruption. In making these linkages, participants can think more systemically about what environmental factors are critical to support and help their individual and collective efforts to stop FGC and further the education of girls. Concrete plans for feasible actions by and with communities themselves will be a direct outcome of the project. In this way, the project will inspire community members to design their own solutions, which will not only have environmental, but also GBV prevention outcomes. For S.A.F.E. the project will provide important evidence of the systemic social ecological and cultural linkages that will inform their continuing work. It provides replicable methods and information to underpin a larger programme to build resilience to climate disruption by investing in girls' education, environmental enrichment and conservation, and combat FGC and GBV. The project will provide a platform for continued and sustained community engagement on the linkages between climate disruption and GBV. It will also provide valuable evidence to support S.A.F.E.'s methodology of participatory drama to address these two issues, leading to the extension of this project to the whole Loita community. It will yield insights to inform new understandings of the nexus between gendered health, wellbeing and environmental change. We believe this will be a transformative research outcome and further establish S.A.F.E. as a pioneer in this field. Third, for researchers and practitioners working in GBV and FGC prevention this project will provide evidence of linkages with climate disruption and other environmental crises, so that they can start to develop interventions that take account of these social ecological drivers of girls' vulnerability, as advocated by the latest research. Identifying generic and specific environmental factors that propel families into poverty and force them into actions that constitute GBV, will improve the effectiveness of interventions against FGC, GBV, and in support of girls' education. Understanding how these pressures drive behaviours will inform how organisations and NGOs working in this sphere might cooperate with agencies focused on climate change to understand the broader social ecological context of family actions and decision-making. Finally, for researchers and practitioners working in climate change and environmental fields it will provide key evidence on how the multiple impacts of environmental crises are socially differentiated. Although it is widely understood now that women, particularly poor women, and children are disproportionately affected by climate change, this project will explain how this happens in communities such as Loita. Insensitive conservation and environmental interventions can have detrimental impacts on women. This can alienate communities who see these actions as unjust and oblivious to local cultural and social circumstances and disrespectful of local priorities and customs. This work can help to expose some of these pitfalls and start to shift the interventions of environmental organisations to more socially just and collaborative actions.
Start Year 2023
 
Description Co-I on scoping study for a survey of FGC/M-prevalence in the UK 
Organisation University of Bristol
Department School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution This project, funded by the Social Sciences & Law Major Initiatives Strategic Research Fund 2021/22 at the University of Bristol, will co-develop tools to enable more reliable estimates of FGC/M prevalence in the UK, using a review of existing approaches to FGC/M data gathering and a series of workshops with young people from FGC/M-affected groups. These measures will form the focus of the first survey of experiences of and attitudes to FGC/M among young people in the UK, a funding application for which will be co-developed with community partners during the project. I am co-investigator on this project and participate in bi-weekly meetings on the design and implementation of the research, as well as the analysis and production of peer-reviewed articles.
Collaborator Contribution Prof Saffron Karlsen is the PI. The other co-investigators are Natasha Carver and Christina Pantazis. Data collection (through focus group discussions) was carried out by Research Assistant Dan Godshaw and non-academic partner and FGM-activist Kafiya Khaireh.
Impact The research team is interdisciplinary, with scholars from Sociology, Criminology, and Policy Studies.
Start Year 2022
 
Description Initiator and Co-I international partnership to co-edit an edited volume that critically interrogates the hegemonic discourse on "female genital mutilation" 
Organisation University of Bristol
Department School for Policy Studies
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Dr Natasha Carver (PI, Policy Studies, UK), Dr Dorothy Takyiakwaa (Co-I, Sociology, UK), and I (Co-I, Anthropology, UK) will collaborate to produce an interdisciplinary edited volume that critically interrogates the hegemonic discourse on "female genital mutilation". We were awarded the Bristol International Collaboration Activities (BIRCA) fund in order for Dr Takyiakwaa to join us in Bristol for strategic planning and writing a funding application for the AHRC Networking Grant. Together, we will organise an initial conference on the topic, identify and invite contributors to the edited volume, organise a workshop for all book contributors to brainstorm, support contributors during the writing process, and organise a final dissemination event.
Collaborator Contribution Natasha Carver is the PI. Dorothy Takyiakwaa and I will be the co-I.
Impact The project will result in a conference, workshop and dissemination event; an international and interdisciplinary network of FGM/C scholars; and an edited volume.
Start Year 2021
 
Description Initiator and Co-I international partnership to co-edit an edited volume that critically interrogates the hegemonic discourse on "female genital mutilation" 
Organisation University of Cape Coast
Country Ghana 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Dr Natasha Carver (PI, Policy Studies, UK), Dr Dorothy Takyiakwaa (Co-I, Sociology, UK), and I (Co-I, Anthropology, UK) will collaborate to produce an interdisciplinary edited volume that critically interrogates the hegemonic discourse on "female genital mutilation". We were awarded the Bristol International Collaboration Activities (BIRCA) fund in order for Dr Takyiakwaa to join us in Bristol for strategic planning and writing a funding application for the AHRC Networking Grant. Together, we will organise an initial conference on the topic, identify and invite contributors to the edited volume, organise a workshop for all book contributors to brainstorm, support contributors during the writing process, and organise a final dissemination event.
Collaborator Contribution Natasha Carver is the PI. Dorothy Takyiakwaa and I will be the co-I.
Impact The project will result in a conference, workshop and dissemination event; an international and interdisciplinary network of FGM/C scholars; and an edited volume.
Start Year 2021
 
Description Initiator of the UoB FGM/C Network 
Organisation University of Bristol
Department Department Archaeology and Anthropology
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution I set up a network of University of Bristol scholars who work on Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C). The network brings together scholars from the School of Sociology, Politics, and International Studies (SPAIS), the School of Policy Studies, and the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology. The network has ad hoc meetings during which we discuss our research, identify partnerships, provide peer reviews on articles and conference papers, and so on. The first meeting took place on 6 January 2022 and involved introductions and setting the agenda. The second meeting took place on 1 February 2022. It involved feedback on a paper draft of one of the members and discussing a funding bid for research on FGM/C prevalence in the UK. The paper has since been successfully published and two grant applications have been successful. The members of the networks are Co-Is or Advisory Board Members on both projects. Since the Spring of 2022, the network meetings have mainly focused on the two ongoing research projects: 1. Understanding what support and advice services are available to people affected by Female Genital Cutting/Mutilation (FGC/M) in Bristol (Temple Quarter Engagement Fund, PI: Christina Pantazis) 2. Scoping study for a survey of FGC/M-prevalence in the UK (Social Sciences & Law Major Initiatives Strategic Research Fund (FMI) 2021/22, PI: Saffron Karlsen)
Collaborator Contribution Participants from the different Schools, Departments, and Faculties contribute by presenting research, collaborating on funding applications, providing feedback, sharing expertise, collaborating on research projects, and so on.
Impact It is a multi-disciplinary and interfaculty network, consisting of participants from the School of Sociology, Politics, and International Studies, and the School for Policy Studies (Faculty of Social Sciences and Law), and the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology (Faculty of Arts).
Start Year 2021
 
Description Initiator of the UoB FGM/C Network 
Organisation University of Bristol
Department School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution I set up a network of University of Bristol scholars who work on Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C). The network brings together scholars from the School of Sociology, Politics, and International Studies (SPAIS), the School of Policy Studies, and the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology. The network has ad hoc meetings during which we discuss our research, identify partnerships, provide peer reviews on articles and conference papers, and so on. The first meeting took place on 6 January 2022 and involved introductions and setting the agenda. The second meeting took place on 1 February 2022. It involved feedback on a paper draft of one of the members and discussing a funding bid for research on FGM/C prevalence in the UK. The paper has since been successfully published and two grant applications have been successful. The members of the networks are Co-Is or Advisory Board Members on both projects. Since the Spring of 2022, the network meetings have mainly focused on the two ongoing research projects: 1. Understanding what support and advice services are available to people affected by Female Genital Cutting/Mutilation (FGC/M) in Bristol (Temple Quarter Engagement Fund, PI: Christina Pantazis) 2. Scoping study for a survey of FGC/M-prevalence in the UK (Social Sciences & Law Major Initiatives Strategic Research Fund (FMI) 2021/22, PI: Saffron Karlsen)
Collaborator Contribution Participants from the different Schools, Departments, and Faculties contribute by presenting research, collaborating on funding applications, providing feedback, sharing expertise, collaborating on research projects, and so on.
Impact It is a multi-disciplinary and interfaculty network, consisting of participants from the School of Sociology, Politics, and International Studies, and the School for Policy Studies (Faculty of Social Sciences and Law), and the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology (Faculty of Arts).
Start Year 2021
 
Description Partnership with UNFPA and international NGOs on webinar on FGM 
Organisation United Nations Population Fund
Country United States 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution I took the initiative to set up an "Open Dialogue" webinar on "Alternative Rites of Passage", an approach commonly used in East Africa to end Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). I started co-organising the event with Dr Katy Newell-Jones, researcher and facilitator. The Open Dialogue brought together a multi-disciplinary network of researchers, development practitioners, and international influencers with expertise on ARP. Katy and I sent out calls for submissions, reviewed and provided feedback on submissions, set up a steering committee to invite input and feedback from other experts, developed the agenda for the day, sent out a summary of the submitted papers, facilitated the webinar, wrote the follow-up report, and created a website ("information and discussion hub) with a blog series to continue the conversation. The event was a success and resulted in a number of action points and a Working Group to take these action points further. The Working Group (led by myself (UoB), Katy Newell-Jones (independent consultant), Lotte Hughes (independent historian) and Arunav Kaul (UNFPA)) organised a second webinar "The Role of ARP In FGM/C Abandonment: New Evidence and Potential Policy" on 8 September 2022. I have obtained funding from the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute for Health Research at the University of Bristol to offer honoraria to the facilitators and presenters and to reimburse webinar attendants for their mobile data costs. The Policy Discussion Paper, Executive Summary, and Shared Learning Doucment based on the second webinar can be found here: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/policybristol/policy-briefings/alternative-rites-passage/
Collaborator Contribution We invited UNFPA and international NGOs (Amref Health International, Orchid Project, S.A.F.E., Safe Engage Foundation, Murua Girls Education Programme) to support us. They became part of the steering group committee. The members of the steering committee supported us through providing input and feedback, helping with facilitating the workshop, support with writing the report, and follow up meetings to identify next steps.
Impact Webinar 1: ARP Open Dialogue - Papers / stimulus materials - A summary of the stimulus materials - Video recording of the event - Report https://docs.google.com/document/d/13Yek6uDxaVdTJ1IM-G2_EWH1NNSMkmRCXiNSHY3B6ic/edit - Blog series https://arps.blogs.bristol.ac.uk - Action Points - The ARP Working Group Webinar 2: The Role of ARP in FGM/C Abandonment: New Evidence and Potential Policies - Papers / stimulus materials - Executive summary: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/media-library/sites/policybristol/briefings-and-reports-pdfs/2022/_EXECUTIVE%20SUMMARY%20Jan%202023.pdf - Policy Discussion Paper: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/policybristol/policy-briefings/alternative-rites-passage/ - Shared learning document: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/media-library/sites/policybristol/briefings-and-reports-pdfs/2022/FINAL%20%20The%20role%20of%20ARP%20in%20FGMC%20abandonmentLessons%20and%20potential%20(v2)-2.pdf
Start Year 2021
 
Description Expert on the United Nations FGMC Expert Meeting on FGM/C Data and Research 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact The Expert Meeting on FGM/C Data and Research was organised by United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and UNICEF in Nairobi in March 2022. The meeting lasted three days and brought together researchers, policymakers, development practitioners, and representatives of UNFPA and UNICEF. I was invited as a research expert. I presented my research and facilitated a panel.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://drive.google.com/file/d/1L-_DJ1xM8M_jxlOAJaq8fxEDoRAh9sFi/view
 
Description Initiator, co-organiser, and co-facilitator of the ARP Open Dialogue (webinar) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact I initiated, co-organised, and co-facilitated a webinar bringing together researchers, development practitioners, government representatives, and international influencers (including UNFPA and UNICEF representatives) on the topic of "Alternative Rites of Passage", a strategy to end Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C).

What: "Alternative Rites of Passage" (ARP) are a strategy used by several non-governmental organisations in their efforts to end female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) by mimicking the 'traditional' initiation ritual of which FGM/C is a part, but with the omission of the physical cut. Despite their growing popularity among NGOs, ARPs have received little scholarly attention. Research into the impact of ARPs is scarce and contested.What: The Open Dialogue on ARP event brought together researchers, practitioners, activists and (inter)national influencers to discuss these and other questions in relation to ARP.

Approach: An open dialogue approach was adopted beginning with a series of short presentations from a range of researchers, practitioners and (inter)national influencers working on FGM/C. This was followed by a series of three open dialogue sessions which discussed the emerging themes, identified key questions and developed calls for action from researchers, practitioners and policy makers (see annex 1 for timetable)

When: 22 November 2021

Where: Zoom

Who: 37 people participated in the event (27 female, 10 male), from 8 countries (Kenya, UK, US, Uganda, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Sweden, Australia). Approximately half defined themselves as researchers, a third as practitioners and a quarter as (inter)national influencers (some identified as 2 of these).

Outcomes: The establishment of a working group to take forward the calls for actions; the creation of a policy brief based on existing scholarship and the webinar discussions; the creation of an information and discussion hub: https://arps.blogs.bristol.ac.uk
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://docs.google.com/document/d/13Yek6uDxaVdTJ1IM-G2_EWH1NNSMkmRCXiNSHY3B6ic/edit#
 
Description Initiator, co-organiser, and co-facilitator of the Follow-Up Webinar: "The Role of ARP in FGM/C Abandonment: New Evidence and Potential Policy" 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact This follow-up event continued the conversation that started during the ARP Open Dialogue Webinar in November 2021. Co-organised by the University of Bristol and
UNFPA, the whole-day event titled 'The role of ARP in FGM/C Abandonment: New evidence and potential policies', took place on the 8th of September 2022. It looked specifically at evaluating the impact of ARP including lessons learned from communities and the work which is being carried out around ARP in different regions. The aim was to get deeper perspectives from the organizations who are working on ARP in various countries which include Tanzania, Uganda, Sierra Leone, and Kenya, and understand the challenges they face in their respective communities. Additionally, researchers and practitioners presented new and innovative findings from recent research on the impact of ARP to end FGM/C. The event provided a platform for various researchers, practitioners, activists, and civil society groups from different countries to make presentations on ARP interventions and to understand the role and potential of ARP in a deeper manner. There were group discussions on key issues, such as how ARP can be improved, strengthened, and made more sustainable as well as scalable.

Outputs:
- report (forthcoming)
- policy discussion paper (being finalised atm)
- action points for Working Group to take forward
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL http://www.bristol.ac.uk/policybristol/policy-briefings/alternative-rites-passage/
 
Description Website - Information and Discussion Hub on "Alternative Rites of Passage" 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Third sector organisations
Results and Impact The website was one of the outcomes of a webinar on "Alternative Rites of Passage" (ARP), a strategy used by several NGOs on especially East Africa to discourage Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C). Participants in the webinar expressed a strong interest in continuing the conversation beyond the webinar, and to establish a central hub with resources on ARP and a platform for discussion. The website contains links to and summaries of research articles, other informative resources, and blog posts that critically engage with the topic of ARP. The blog posts are written by researchers, activists, development practitioners, and (inter)national influencers. They are written in jargon-free language and target a diverse audience, including the general public, NGOs, activists, researchers, and donors.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://arps.blogs.bristol.ac.uk