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REPLACE 2 partners took part in a number of events to acknowledge the International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and launched a series of actions using web 2.0 tools which covered many EU countries and abroad. Working with schools In Italy, the Eritrean and Ethiopian researchers working in CESIE organised a morning of debates about the topic of FGM with the students of a high school (Regina Margherita of Palermo). It was an opportunity to raise awareness among young people about FGM, but also to reflect on broader issues such as migration flows, and different cultural practices and values.: http://cesie.org/en/news/giornata-internazionale-contro-mgf/ FGM and the Post 2015 Agenda for Development Goals In Portugal, APF attended an event organised by CIG (Commission for Citizenship and Gender Equality), where two secretaries of state were present. APF used this opportunity to disseminate the REPLACE 2 leaflets and generate some interest in the project. In the afternoon, APF took part in an event to discuss FGM on the Post 2015 Agenda for Development Goals. Among others, they raised the awareness about the importance of working with communities, involve them in the changing process, both here in Europe and in their origin countries. As part of their activities towards ending FGM, APF is also promoting the END FGM new campaign to make candidate Members of the European Parliament sign a pledge to act to end FGM: http://www.endfgm.eu/en/pledge Revised statement opposing FGM in The Netherlands On the Zero Tolerance day, a revised Statement opposing female circumcision was presented by a representative from the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport and the Ministry of Security and Justice. The Statement is a document that parents can take with them when they visit their family abroad, in order to protect their daughters from possible circumcision. During the closing ceremony of the REPLACE 2 women's leadership training/FGM, one of the participants performed a traditional form of poetry called Buraanbur. In this piece she expressed the physical and mental pain caused by FGM, she concluded that FGM is an outdated practice and it should be stopped. FORWARD and the FGM/C Social Change Campaign FORWARD UK attended a round table meeting on the 6th of February organised by the Home Office which provided an update on the plans of different government departments on FGM. Lynne Featherstone, from the Department for International Development, announced that the DFID END FGM/C Social Change Campaign won its support for the next 5 years. The Campaign is lead by a consortium of agencies working on FGM, including FORWARD: www.forwarduk.org.uk/key-issues/fgm Testimony of our Behaviour change approach in FGM Fatou Secka, who is cooperating with GES (Spain) in the REPLACE 2 project, represented REPLACE 2 in the name of GES in the III International Conference "FGM: A reality in Europe" organised by Unión de Asociaciones Familiares. More information can be found here: http://unaf.org/events/iii-jornadas-sobre-mutilacion-genital-femenina/ Finally, Professor Hazel Barrett from Coventry University (UK) attended the Guardian round table discussion on the 30th in the framework of the Guardian's Campaign for action in schools on FGM. |
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REPLACE 2 is a two year project being funded by the European Commission. This project follows the successful completion of REPLACE I in 2011. REPLACE 2 is the product of the cooperation of six European countries, England (Coventry University and FORWARD UK), the Netherlands (FSAN), Italy (CESIE), Portugal (APF), Spain (Gabinet) and Belgium (Ghent University). REPLACE 2 will implement and evaluate the behavioural change and community-based Toolkit developed by REPLACE 1. Partners will work directly with FGM-affected communities in the EU to understand the barriers to behavioural change and therefore develop tailored interventions which community groups and NGOs can use in future efforts to bring about the end of FGM in the EU and beyond.
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Current Activities |
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This is the name of the 2014 Conference of REPLACE 2 which will take place in London on 11th April 2014. The need for prosecutions for people who practice Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) on girls or young women is in the spotlight in some EU countries, such as the UK. Non-governmental organisations, some members from FGM affected communities and other citizens are pressuring governments and law enforcement authorities to take action towards the effective prosecution of FGM, which is, by law, banned in almost all EU countries. However, for some working in the field, prevention should be the focus rather than prosecution. The Conference aims to implement and evaluate the REPLACE community-based behaviour change intervention framework to tackle FGM in the EU, as well as to bring high-level speakers in a discussion about the pertinence of prosecutions and the effectiveness of prevention, among other things. Norman Baker MP (Crime Prevention Minister at the Home Office), Leyla Hussein (an anti-FGM activist and co-founder of Daughters Of Eve), Els Leye (postdoctoral fellow of the International Centre for Reproductive Health at the Ghent University) and Ifrah Ahmed (an internationally recognised social activist in the field of FGM) will be the keynote speakers of this Conference. There will also be presentations on FGM from practitioners, academics and students across a spectrum of disciplines, as well as overview of the REPLACE 2 project and introductions by REPLACE 2 partners. Do you want to take part in this important event in the field of FGM in Europe? Visit our site to register:
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(REPLACE 2 Project Number:
JUST/2011-2012/DAP/AG) |
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