Zero tolerance for female genital mutilation must mean year-round action, not one day of attention. The international awareness day on 6 February provides a focus, but girls’ safety depends on what families, communities and professionals do afterwards.
FGM is a human-rights violation with no health benefit. Prevention must combine community-led change, education, health and safeguarding services, proportionate law enforcement and support for survivors.
Schools have an important role. Staff need accurate training, children need safe ways to raise concerns and every response must follow statutory guidance. Careless assumptions about ethnicity, nationality or religion can damage trust and undermine safeguarding.
UNICEF’s 2024 estimate says more than 230 million girls and women alive today have undergone FGM. The figure is a call for sustained, evidence-led work centred on those affected.
Sources and further reading
This article was reviewed on 30 July 2026.