Switzerland

8,579,938

0.8%

Number of girls and women affected

There are no national statistics on female genital cutting (FGC) in Switzerland. The practice is not indigenous to the country, however FGC has been known to continue within some diaspora, refugee and immigrant populations.

Academic studies and reports suggest that between 6,700 and 7000 women in Switzerland may have undergone the practice.

Source: Swiss Med Weekly and Swiss Info

Type practised

The type of FGC practised by communities in Switzerland is likely to be varied, depending on the traditions surrounding the practice within their ethnic group/country of heritage.

Age

The average age at which girls living in Switzerland have undergone FGC is unknown. Girls at risk may undergo FGC from birth, approximately up until the age of 16, depending on the traditional age of cutting within a specific ethnic group.

Agent

Varied. Girls living in Switzerland may be at risk of undergoing the practice within the country, or overseas. This could be carried out by a medical practitioner, or by a traditional cutter.

Legal status

Illegal. In 2012, Switzerland also introduced a change to its penal code to prevent families from taking girls overseas to be cut.

National progress

• 2014 – Switzerland first donated the UNICEF-UNFPA Joint Programme on FGC.

Human Development Index ranking

2 in 2018 index, based on 2017 data.

Infant mortality rate

3.6 deaths per 1,000 live births (2016).

Maternal mortality rate

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

Source: Human Development Index

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