SELECTED STATISTICS ON WOMEN ’S STATUS

8% of women 20-24 years were married orin union before age 15

29% of women 20-24 years were married orin union before age 18

16% of women 20-24 years have given birthby age 18

45%of women 15-49 years think that ahusband/partner is justified in hitting/beating his wife/partner under certaincircumstances

79%of women 15-49 years make use of atleast one type of information mediaat least once a week (newspaper,magazine, television or radio)

Source: Continuous DHS 2017

Female genital mutilation FGM) refers to “all procedures involving partial or total removal of the female external genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.”1 While the exact number of girls and women worldwide who have undergone FGM remains unknown, at least 200 million girls and women have been cut in 30 countries with representative data on prevalence. FGM is a violation of girls’ and women’s human rights and is condemned by many international treaties and conventions, as well as by national legislation in many countries. Yet, where it is practised FGM is performed in line with tradition and social norms to ensure that girls are socially accepted and marriageable, and to uphold their status and honour and that of the entire family. UNICEF works with government and civil society partners towards the elimination of FGM in countries where it is still practised.

1. World Health Organization, Eliminating Female Genital Mutilation: An interagency statement, WHO, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNIFEM, OHCHR, UNHCR, UNECA, UNESCO, UNDP, UNAIDS, WHO, Geneva, 2008, p. 4.

STATISTICAL PROFILE ON FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION

SENEGAL

Data and Analytics SectionDIVISION OF DATA, RESEARCH AND POLICY

© UNICEF/UNI63113/Furrer

1999 National decree/legislation banningFGM passed

WHEN AND HOW IS FGM PERFORMED?

HOW WIDESPREAD IS THE PRACTICE?

Variations in FGM prevalence across Senegal are dramatic

Two in three girls experienced the practice between ages 5 and 14

Percentage of girls and women aged 15 to 49 yearswho have undergone FGM, by region

Percentage of girls and women aged 15 to 49 years who have undergone FGM, by ethnicity and religion

Percentage of girls aged 0 to 14 years who have undergone FGM (as reported by their mothers), by residence, mother’s education and household wealth quintile

Among daughters of cut girls and women, the percentage of girls aged 0 to 14 years who have undergone FGM (as reported by their mothers),

by mothers’ attitudes about whether the practice should continue

Notes: The boundaries and the names shown and the designations used on the map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations. Only categories with 25 or more unweighted cases are presented. Due to rounding, some of the data presented may not add up to 100 per cent. Prevalence data for girls aged 0 to 14 reflect their current, but not final, FGM status since some girls who have not been cut may still be at risk of experiencing the practice once they reach the customary age for cutting. Therefore, the data on prevalence for girls under age 15 is actually an underestimation of the true extent of the practice. Since age at cutting varies among settings, the amount of underestimation also varies and this should be kept in mind when interpreting all FGM prevalence data for this age group. ‘Traditional practitioner’ includes traditional circumcisers, traditional birth attendants and other types of traditional practitioners.

Source for all charts on this page: Continuous DHS 2017

Percentage distribution of girls aged 15 to 19 years who have undergone FGM, by age at which cutting occurred

Percentage distribution of girls aged 0 to 14 years who have undergone FGM (as reported by their mothers), according to

the type of person/practitioner performing the procedure

Percentage distribution of girls aged 0 to 14 yearswho have undergone FGM (as reported by their

mothers), by type of FGM performed

All girls in Senegal who have undergone FGM were cut by a traditional practitioner

10% - 25%

26% - 50%

51% - 80%

Above 80%

Less than 10%

24

1

25

7

Total Muslim Christian Ethnic group withhighest prevalence

0

20

40

60

80

100

75

Ethnic group withlowest prevalence

0-4 years

5-9 years

10-14 years

Don’t know/Missing 0 20 40 60 80 100

81 11 1 43

15+ years

14 1611

Total Rural Urban No education

Primary complete

Secondaryor higher

0

10

20

30

40

50

Poorest Richest

19

7 6

26

4

222232

0

20

40

60

80

100

68

Daughters whosemothers think FGM

should continue

Daughters whosemothers are

unsure

Daughters whosemothers sayit depends

Daughters whosemothers think FGM

should stop

100

0.4

Traditionalpractitioner

Don’t know/Missing

Other type

Sewn closed

85

15

WHAT ARE THE PREVAILING ATTITUDES TOWARDS FGM?

The majority of people in Senegal think that FGM should stop

IS THE PRACTICE OF FGM CHANGING?

There has been no significant change in the prevalence of FGM or attitudes towards the practice over time

Percentage of girls and women aged 15 to 49 years who have undergone FGM, by current age

Source for all of the above charts: Continuous DHS 2017Percentage of girls and women aged 15 to 49 years who have undergone FGM, and percentage of girls and

women aged 15 to 49 years who have heard about FGM and think the practice should continue, by survey year

Percentage of girls and women aged 15 to 49 years and boys and men aged 15 to 49 yearswho have heard about FGM, by their attitudes about whether the practice should continue

Percentage of girls and women aged 15 to 49 years and boys and men aged 15 to 49 years who have heard of FGM and

believe the practice is required by religion

Percentage of girls and women aged 15 to 49 years who have heard about FGM and think the practice should continue,by wealth quintile, education, ethnicity and age

Think FGM should continue Think FGM should stop Say it depends/are not sure

Girls andwomen

Boys andmen

0 20 40 60 80 100

79

81

14

15

7

4

13 15

0

20

40

60

80

100

Girls and women Boys and men

45-49 years

30

6

2010

43

Total Poorest Richest No education Primary complete

Secondary orhigher

Ethnic group with highest support

Ethnic group with lowest support

15-19 years 0

20

40

60

80

100

2 14 15 16 16

0

10

20

30

40

50

45-49 years 40-44 years 35-39 years 30-34 years 25-29 years 20-24 years 15-19 years

27 2723

25 23 2126

17

DHS/MICS 2010-2011

Prevalence of FGM Think FGM should continue

0

10

20

30

40

50

28 25

18

DHS 2005

16

Continuous DHS 2014

26 24

17

DHS 2015-16

24

15

Continuous DHS 2017

Percentage of girls and women aged 15 to 49 years who have undergone FGM

Percentage of girls aged 0 to 14 years who have undergone FGM (as reported by their mothers)

Percentage of girls and women aged 15 to 49 years who have heard about FGM and think the practice should continue

INTER-COUNTRY STATISTICAL OVERVIEW

SENEGAL

Notes: Data on attitudes for Yemen refer to ever-married girls and women. In Liberia, girls and women who have heard of the Sande society were asked whether they were members; this provides indirect information on FGM since it is performed during initiation into the society. Egypt data refer to girls aged 1 to 14 years and Indonesia data refer to girls aged 0 to 11 years. An older source is used to report on the prevalence of FGM among girls aged 0 to 14 years for Gambia (MICS 2010) and Uganda (DHS 2011) since the latest source did not collect these data. MICS data for Ghana (2011) could not be used to report on attitudes towards FGM due to the fact that information is missing for girls and women with no living daughters; data from MICS 2006 are used instead. In Liberia, only cut girls and women were asked about their attitudes towards FGM; since girls and women from practicing communities are more likely to support the practice, the level of support in this country as captured by DHS 2013 is higher than would be expected had all girls and women been asked their opinion. Prevalence data on FGM for girls and women aged 15 to 49 years and data on attitudes towards FGM are not available for Indonesia.

Sources: DHS, MICS, Health Issues Survey, Population and Health Survey and RISKESDAS, 2004-2018.

Updated January 2019

FOR MORE INFORMATIONData and Analytics Section - Division of Data, Research and Policy

UNICEF, 3 UN Plaza, New York, 10017Website: data.unicef.org Email: data@unicef.org

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