Cavernoma Alliance UK, 2022. [image] Available at: https://cavernoma.org.uk/news/coronavirus/ [Accessed 1 May 2022].

FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION SINCE THE ADVENT OF COVID

Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in late 2019 to 2020, the world experienced a lot of changes and as a result, a lot of movements and campaigns were affected, including movements that involved the fight against FGM.

According to The Lancet (2021) inequalities have deepened since the COVID-19 pandemic, might have catastrophic effects on women and girls, as previous experience in responding to humanitarian crises and outbreaks has shown. The Lancet further argues that the COVID-19 pandemic could increase existing gender inequalities and therefore increase the risk of gender-based violence, stating that school closure, movement restrictions, and confinement hamper access to prevention, protection, and services, leaving girls vulnerable, especially in hard-to-reach areas.

According to Orchid (2020), there were increased rates of FGM reported across East and West Africa as a result of Lockdown, An urgent lack of FGM integration within COVID-19 response efforts, leaving girls no recourse to essential prevention, protection, and support services.