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UNITED NATION JOINT PROGRAMME TO END FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION

At Value Re-orientation for Community Enhancement (VARCE), our partnership with the United Nations Joint Programme (UNJP) on the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is more than a project. It's a bold and intentional journey of change, rooted in empathy, evidence, and lived realities.

To accelerate efforts to end FGM in Osun State, this programme uses a capacity-building, strategic advocacy dialogue/meeting, social mobilization, and community engagement approach. The various approaches include

o Empowerment of youth-led and women-led community-based organizations, as well as adolescent girls' clubs (ages 10 to 19) in schools, religious, and cultural settings, to empower girls to speak out against FGM.

o Engagement of parents, caregivers, teachers, and community leaders at both household and community levels to raise awareness about the harmful effects of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and its role in reinforcing gender inequality. By empowering these stakeholders to challenge gender stereotypes and promote mutual respect among children, the programme aims to promote long-term cultural change.

o Expansion of the Movement for Good to end Female Genital Mutilation by building strategic partnerships with youth and women-led coordination networks, government, civil society organization networks, FGM survivors, and other community-based institutions such as religious, educational, healthcare, and cultural groups. These partnerships support collective and sustainable actions at household and community levels to prevent, mitigate, and respond to the practice of FGM.

o Provision of prevention and protection services for FGM survivors and girls or women at risk of FGM in the intervention communities. These individuals are linked to formal service providers in the health, social, and legal sectors through an established referral pathway in line with UNICEF’s guidelines for service delivery.

o Collaboration with key stakeholders to strengthen legal frameworks and policy implementation aimed at eliminating Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), Gender-Based Violence (GBV), and Violence Against Children (VAC). This intervention focuses on enhancing legal responses, fast-tracking case resolutions, and ensuring survivor-centred support services.

This project has been implemented in 54 communities within 11 LGAs i.e. Obokun, Oriade, Olaoluwa, Ede South, Ede North, Ejigbo, Ilesa West, Ilesa East, Olorunda, Boripe and Osogbo in Osun State.