Children and adolescents

In Sierra Leone, 71 percent of girls affected by FGM/C are cut before their 15th birthday. Very few of them know what to expect beforehand – they are only told about the celebratory admission ceremony into the Bondo Society, at the end of which they are cheered by the village community and receive beautiful clothes and other gifts. FGM/C as part of the ritual, along with the associated risks and long-term consequences, is not mentioned.

That is why AIM carries out intensive awareness-raising work on FGM/C in schools and organizes clubs whose young members actively help to sensitize their peers. Boys are also deliberately being included in these school clubs.