jeanie kortum

• Awareness of and efforts to prevent FGM have increased greatly in recent years, with organizations like Unicef and Equality Now leading the charge; in February 2015, the UN designated a “worldwide day of zero tolerance on FGM,” and called for concrete action to be taken against the cutting of girls and women. • While the exact number of girls and women worldwide who have undergone female genital mutilation/cutting is unknown, at least 200 million girls and women have been cut in 30 countries with representative data on prevalence. (Unicef) • In Guinea, where 97% of girls aged 15 to 49 are FGM victims despite the practice being outlawed, Unicef staff described seeing girls taken away from their families against their will to be cut, on the orders of village authorities.