Stein, Karin, and Doris Chou, “WHO Guidelines on the Management of Health Complications from Female Genital Mutilation,” World Health Organization (2016)

URL: www.who.int/reproductivehealth/topics/fgm/management-health-complications-fgm/en/

Abstract

These guidelines are intended primarily for health-care professionals involved in the care of girls and women who have been subjected to any form of female genital mutilation (FGM). This document also provides guidance for policy-makers, health-care managers and others in charge of planning, developing and implementing national and local health-care protocols and policies. The information contained in this document will also be useful for designing job aids and pre- and in-service professional training curricula in the areas of medicine, nursing, midwifery and public health for health-care providers caring for girls and women living with FGM.

WHO’s guidelines provide helpful information on how the medical community on a global scale is viewing and responding to FGM. Of note is WHO’s emphasis that FGM not only harms girls and women physically, but also harms them psychologically. The guidelines recommend that care for women who have suffered from FGM should include mental healthcare when appropriate.