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Alleviating World Suffering pp 349–360Cite as

Success in Reducing Female Genital Cutting: A Multilevel Framework of Social Change

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Part of the book series: Social Indicators Research Series ((SINS,volume 67))

Abstract

Female genital cutting (FGC) practices, which affect nearly 100 million girls and women worldwide (Yoder PS, Wang S, and Johansen E, Stud Family Plann 44(2):189–204, 2013), cause immediate and long-term suffering. Fortunately, there has been a dramatic reduction in FGC in recent decades, and the downward trend is continuing, alleviating pain and negative health consequences for future generations of girls. The lessons learned from the successful case of FGC reduction have implications for reducing other types of suffering. We begin this essay with some background on FGC: what it is, where it occurs, its health consequences, why and how it is perpetuated, and changes in its prevalence over time. We then elaborate how reductions in FGC became possible, first, in terms of social policies adopted at the international level and, second, in terms of health, development, and education programs at the community level. Finally, we outline the ways in which the characteristics of FGC overlap with the characteristics of many forms of suffering, making FGC change a promising model for successful reforms in other areas.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Sociology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA

    Elizabeth Heger Boyle

  2. Department of Sociology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA

    Joseph Svec

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  1. Elizabeth Heger Boyle
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  2. Joseph Svec
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Correspondence to Elizabeth Heger Boyle .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Sociology, Department of Sociology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

    Ronald E. Anderson

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Boyle, E.H., Svec, J. (2017). Success in Reducing Female Genital Cutting: A Multilevel Framework of Social Change. In: Anderson, R. (eds) Alleviating World Suffering. Social Indicators Research Series, vol 67. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51391-1_21

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51391-1_21

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-51390-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-51391-1

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