The EU-Parliament estimates that 180,000 girls and young women are at risk of mutilation in a country of the EU or in the home country of their parents.
A study by the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) points out the need for closer cooperation in Europe to overcome this massive violation of human rights of girls and women. NGOs and African communities can contribute to the end of Female Genital Mutilation in Europe by increased Europe-wide collaboration.
Therefore TERRE DES FEMMES, together with partner organizations, is starting the two-year EU-project CHANGE. The objective of CHANGE is to diminish the social pressure in African communities in Europe, thereby protect girls at risk and contribute to a behaviour change. For that purpose 48 persons of influence, so called Change Agents, are needed. Change Agents can be male or female; they should come from a country of origin with a high FGM-rate and desire to become involved in their communities.
Within the next weeks the call fort he Change Agents will be published by all project-partners. On April 18th and 19th, the kick-off meeting for CHANGE was held in Berlin. The partner organizations EuroNET-FGM, FSAN from the Netherlands, FORWARD from Great Britain, RISK from Sweden and Plan International from Germany participated in the meeting. Isabelle Louis, Project Officer at the EU, was there to answer questions of the participants.
