Djibouti

Type practised

The most widely practised form of female genital cutting (FGC) in Djibouti is Type III.

Age

62% of girls in Djibouti undergo FGC between the ages of five and nine.

More than one in five girls underwent FGC before the age of five, as reported by their mothers.

Source: UNFPA-UNICEF

Agent

78% of FGC is performed by traditional practitioners and 21% by health providers.

Source: UNFPA-UNICEF

Legal status

Illegal. Anti-FGC law has been in place since 1995.

Source: UNFPA-UNICEF

National progress

• 2004/5 – His Excellency the President of the Republic made declarations, affirming efforts to bring an end to FGC
• 2005 – National Policy for the Integrated Early Childhood Development
• 2010 – National Strategic Plan for Children
• 2011 – Gender Policy 2011-2021
• 2015 – FGC elimination included as a national priority in the 2035 General Policy
• 2016 – National referral protocol for management of gender-based violence including FGC developed for social, judicial and medical sectors
• 2017 – New national strategy for eliminating FGC
• 2017 – National Health Development Plan, 2018-2022

UN programme

During phase II of the UNFPA-UNICEF joint programme on FGC (2014-2017), 102 communities publicly declared the abandonment of FGC, involving 610,891 individuals.

Despite these initiatives and legislation, Djibouti still has one of the highest FGC prevalence rates in the world along with Somalia, Guinea, Egypt and Sierra Leone. There has been some movement from Type III to Type II, rather than complete abandonment.

Source: UNFPA-UNICEF

Human Development Index ranking

172 in 2018 index, based on 2017 data.

Infant mortality rate

54 deaths per 1,000 live births (2015).

Source: 28 Too Many

Maternal mortality rate

229 deaths per 100,000 live births (2015).

 Source: 28 Too Many

Trends in FGC prevalence

Despite government and legislative initiatives, and the activities of the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on FGC in five of Djibouti’s six regions, FGC has not been reduced significantly. Nearly as many adolescent girls undergo FGC as compared to older age groups of women.

Source: UNFPA-UNICEF

Prevalence breakdown

By region

FGC in Djibouti shows a high prevalence across all regions. The prevalence of FGC among women aged 15-49 in the capital region of Djibouti is slightly lower than elsewhere, at 92.9%.  The prevalence in the rest of the country is 94.9%.

Source: UNFPA-UNICEF

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