Female Genital Mutilation in Guinea-Bissau

Innovation methods

Data sources

SDG(s)

Sustainable Development Goal(s)

3Good health and well-being

5Gender equality

10Reduced innequalities

Disclaimer:

Please be aware that the content herein has not been peer reviewed. It consists of personal reflections, insights, and learnings of the contributor(s). It may not be exhaustive, nor does it aim to be authoritative knowledge.

Title

Please provide a name for your action learning plan.

Understanding Female Genital Mutilation in Guinea-Bissau through barriers, cultural and religious practices.

Challenge statement

Challenge type: If you are working on multiple challenges, please indicate if this is your "big bet" or "exploratory" challenge. Please note: we ask you to only submit a maximum of 3 challenges - 1x Big Bet, 2x Exploratory. Each challenge must be submitted individually.

BIG BET

Challenge statement: What is your challenge? (Please answer in specific terms: "Our challenge is that...”.)

Our challenge is that FGM in Guinea-Bissau is directly linked to cultural and religious norms and practices, negatively affecting women and girls health and leading to direct and indirect forms of GBV affecting their overall integration and participation in society. This is particularly prominent in regions such as Gabu, Bafatá and Quinara, but its a problem widespread across the national territory. Additionally, the political class avoids this area for fear of losing votes and popular support from masses, causing this problem to become even more normalised.

Background: What is the history of your challenge? What is causing or driving it? Who is involved? How does the current situation look like? What undesired effects does it produce?

- Girls and women from rural areas, with less education or who identify as Muslim are at greater risk of FGM. - Guinea-Bissau is a society of mouth-to-mouth tradition passing, which means that FGM is seen a cultural and religious tradition passed on through generations. - Traditional circumciser (Fanatecas; women who practice FGM; usually women of age) 98%, Traditional birth attendant 2% and Other traditional practitioner 0.1% - Over 400,000 girls and women in Guinea-Bissau alive today have experienced FGM. Overall, 52 per cent of girls and women aged 15 to 49 years have undergone the practice, varying from 96 per cent in Gabu region to 8 per cent in Biombo - This practice affects women's and girls' health and leading to direct and indirect forms of GBV affecting their overall integration and participation in society (access to education, early marriage, access to health, justice etc)

Quantitative evidence: What (official) data sources do you have on this challenge that better exemplifies the importance and urgency of this frontier challenge? You can add text, a link, or a picture.

Qualitative evidence: What weak signals have you recently spotted that characterizes its urgency? Please provide qualitative information that better exemplifies the importance and urgency of this frontier challenge. You can add text, a link, or a picture.

- Social and cultural pressure to maintain the practice. - Perception that FGM guarantees purity and facilitates marriage. - Low knowledge about the risks and illegality of the practice (Law 14/2011). - Influence of religious and cultural leaders who support FGM.

Value proposition: What added value or unique value proposition is your Accelerator Lab bringing to solving this challenge? Why is it your Lab that needs to work on this challenge and not other actors within UNDP, other stakeholders in the country respectively? Why is it worth investing resources to this challenge?

The unique value proposition that the Lab in Guinea-Bissau is bringing is through the use of innovative methodologies to look at ways in which the challenge can be overcome through the use of new technologies to achieve different results. Particularly coming from the principle that widening the search for a solution to different communities and groups, might create a space to try new ways to target the problem of FGM in the country such as ethnography and crowdsourcing.

Short “tweet” summary: We would like to tweet what you are working on, can you summarize your challenge in a maximum of 280 characters?

In Guinea-Bissau, the UNDP Accelerator Lab is using innovation, tech & community-driven methods like ethnography & crowdsourcing to tackle FGM differently, expanding the search for solutions beyond the usual. #EndFGM

Challenge classification

Partners

Who are your top 5 partners for this challenge? Please submit from MOST to LEAST important and state Name, Sector and a brief description of the (intended) collaboration.

Please state the name of the partner:

Ministry of Women, Family and Social Cohesion - national committee to abandon harmful practices

What sector does our partner belong to?

Government (&related)

Please provide a brief description of the collaboration.

They are the key partner working on the area of FGM

Is this a new and unusual partner for UNDP?

Who are your top 5 partners for this challenge? Please submit from MOST to LEAST important and state Name, Sector and a brief description of the (intended) collaboration.

Please state the name of the partner:

UNFPA & UNICEF / Joint Programme

What sector does our partner belong to?

United Nations

Please provide a brief description of the collaboration.

They are the key agencies working on a joint programme that deals with this thematic area

Is this a new and unusual partner for UNDP?

Learning questions

Learning question: What is your learning question for this challenge? What do you need to know or understand to work on your challenge statement?

How might we better understand the social norms and practices related to FGM and how to overcome it.

To what stage(s) in the learning cycle does your learning question relate?

Sense, Explore

Usage of methods: Relating to your choice above, how will you use your methods & tools for this learning question? What value do these add in answering your learning question?

Collective Intelligence & Partnerships - these methods will support us in understand, what has been done, what has worked and not worked and how we can try different solution in order to achieve new positive results. Crowdsourcing & Solutions Mapping - This will allow this to use new technologies to understand the issue from different perspectives including those of people outside of these affected communities as well as map solutions in order to find sustainability. Reverse Engineering - Instead of taking the traditional route, we will crowdsource first, to find solutions and only after do the system thinking workshop to discuss potential solutions with key partners.

Existing data gaps: Relating to your choice above, what existing gaps in data or information do these new sources of data addressing? What value do these add in answering your learning question?

The existing gaps do not use the new technologies or data in the way in which the Accelerator Lab can use it to the address the challenge.

Closing

Early leads to grow: Think about the possible grow phase for this challenge - who might benefit from your work on this challenge or who might be the champions in your country that you should inform or collaborate with early on to help you grow this challenge?

Communities, UNICEF, UNFPA and Government.

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