Law and Persuasion in the Elimination of Female Genital Modification

Abstract

This article addresses issues involved in creating applied programs designed to eliminate the practice of genital surgeries on women, from the joint standpoints of practical effectiveness and ethical soundness. It takes the position that law and enforcement approaches are insufficient as public policy. Efforts to affect public policy should, rather, focus on gaining adequate funding for research-informed programs of public education and persuasion. The discussion examines approaches relevant to countries where these practices are long-established traditions and the situation of immigrant populations in Europe and the United States. Effective approaches are reviewed, based on practical and theoretical descriptions of change strategies by other scholars, reports on specific programs, and perspectives adapted from the author's ethnographic research with the Nandi people of Kenya.