End FGM European Network Profile picture
Sep 21, 2020 7 tweets 3 min read Read on X
♀️ In Europe, girls & women are constantly exposed to images of what our patriarchal society considers a perfect female body.

This goes beyond thigh gaps or big breasts, and includes standards on how a “desirable” #vagina should look like. (1/7)
To live up to these expectations, some women & girls undergo operations, including of cosmetic genital surgery.

Some examples to achieve this #BarbieLook?
Continue to read our thread! 👇 (2/7)
1⃣ Vaginoplasty➡️an operation that aims to “correct” the vulva’s appearance and makes it "flawless".

2⃣ Labiaplasty➡️an operation to reduce the length of the labias. 2015/2016: In 🇬🇧, more than 200 girls under 18 had labiaplasty. More than 150 were under 15.
(3/7)
3⃣ Vaginal rejuvenation➡️corrective treatments to “fix” the effects of time or child-birth.

❗️Europe is 1 of the leading markets for this kind of genital operations 👉tinyurl.com/yxn4ophb (4/7)
These operations
👉Are generally performed for non-medical reasons
👉Are influenced by societal pressure on female bodies in patriarchal societies
👉Can lead to complications
👉In some European countries are accessible to minors (5/7)
An argument some put forward is that these operations are similar to what WHO considers FGM 👇

"Who is to decide, and on what grounds, what is to be categorized as FGM, and what is to be categorized as plastic genital surgery?" - Sara Johnsdotter ➡️ tinyurl.com/y6hlqfwj (6/7)
❓ Although informed consent of women & girls plays a role, can we genuinely say that their decision to undergo these cosmetic non-medical operations is made free from social pressure? #endFGMmyths (7/7)

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More from @ENDFGM_Network

Feb 6, 2021
🔔Happening Now

Talk 3 of the @baadon1 event with @morissanda and our Director @AnnaWidegren talking about "Sexual Rights and Healthcare Advocacy in the movement against FGM"

You can still tune in by registering here: m.facebook.com/events/4660909…

#EndFGM #EndFGM4All Image
"Access to information for Survivors of FGM in Europe, especially if they are asylum seekers, is critical."

"There's a lack of services particularly targeting Children and Youth, and this is a problem as most (not all) cases of FGM happen before the age of 15."
@AnnaWidegren
"Community members have a key role in advocating against the practice as well as in ensuring access to information. Our Youth Ambassadors are a great example of this, they created the #PurpleChair YouTube series specifically to raise awareness and empower others to speak up."
Read 4 tweets
Feb 5, 2021
HAPPENING NOW:

Speech by EU Commissioner for Equality @helenadalli

"To end FGM we need to explore all solutions. We need to support the work of local and community based organisation, as they are best place to address the practice on the ground."

#Act2EndFGM #UnionofEquality Image
Speech by EU Commissioner for Equality @helenadalli

"FGM is a violation of human rights, and we must end it, in Europe and beyond"

#Act2EndFGM #UnionofEquality
Presentation on Intersectionality by Aïda Yancy

"Intersectionality shows that society is not a single lane road."

#Act2EndFGM #EndFGM4All Image
Read 6 tweets
Nov 28, 2020
Happening now!

Conversation on Youth Led Activism with @ScarletUdaan and #thePurpleChair

Join here: tinyurl.com/YtLedDigActivi… Image
@IsmaBlrh sharing about our Network and our work on FGM

Check out our website page on what is FGM here: endfgm.eu/female-genital… Image
#Hadeel spoke about the Purple Chair series and how Youth activist have been using videos on Youtube to raise awareness on FGM, GBV, access to services and knowing your rights. Image
Read 14 tweets
Nov 26, 2020
This year, for the #16DaysOfActivism, we are sharing about different (& original) ways to do activism against #GBV every day!

Today, let's talk about a traditional way for women to fight for their rights and ideals, but with a spin! 👇 #orangetheworld Image
Lysistrata, an anti-war comedy by the Greek playwright Aristophanes, talks about a sex strike 💪

The women in the play, led by Lysistrata, want the Peloponnesian War to end, so they stop having sex with their husbands as a strategy to secure the peace. Image
And nowadays?

Let's talk about three different sex strikes!

1⃣ Huelga de piernas cruzadas ("The strike of crossed legs"), Pereira (Colombia), September 2006 ▶️ A strike to curb gang violence. Image
Read 5 tweets
Nov 13, 2020
This month, for our Annual Campaign #endFGMmyths, we are answering the question “Are some forms of FGM less harmful than others?”

Today, let’s talk about one of the most discussed consequences of FGM: does FGM affects sexual pleasure? And do all types of FGM affects it? Image
The answer is not as obvious as people expect.

Every Survivor's experience is different. Even if some Survivors experience sexual difficulties, some others are happy with their sex life.

Sexual problems can affect anyone, whether they have undergone FGM or not. Image
Survivors that experience sexual problems after undergoing FGM can overcome them if they have access to:

👉 Psychological support
👉 Medical support
👉 Sexological support
Read 5 tweets
Nov 9, 2020
This month, for our Annual Campaign #endFGMmyths, we are answering the question "Are some forms of FGM less harmful than others?" 🤔

Today, we want to talk about medicalised FGM and why it's not less harmful than other forms of FGM! Image
❓ What is medicalised FGM?
▶️ It's when FGM is carried out in a hospital environment.

❓ Why does it happen? 👇 Image
❓ Why shouldn't be accepted?

👉It doesn't necessarily lead to a lesser impact on Survivors' life.
👉Replacing one form of FGM with another won't necessarily lead to it being abandoned.
👉It can make raising awareness on FGM more difficult, as health professionals support it.
Read 4 tweets

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