Female Genital Cutting (FGC) comprises all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or another injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. Ending the practice of FGC has global attention in which Ethiopia is one of them. The purpose of this baseline study was to set the benchmark on the status of FGC cutting among young girls and assess the community perception of FGC.

A community-based cross-sectional study primarily sourced from quantitative and qualitative data was conducted in July 2020. The quantitative study used a sample of 404 women who said they have female children under the age of two. The qualitative data was based on nine key informant interviews with selected informants from different sectors that have had close relationships with FGC prevention. A topic guide to lead discussions was used, focused on the engagement of multi-sectors to end FGC. The quantitative data were analyzed using bivariate and multivariate logistic regression. Thematic analysis using AtlasTi software was used for qualitative analysis.

The prevalence of FGC practice amongst the age of fewer than two years of female children was 90%. The most commonly preferred age for circumcision in the study area was around one year. A significant proportion of mothers 71.% still support the continuation of FGC, and the same proportion reported as they want their daughter to be circumcised in the future. The most common predictors for the continuation of FGC practice were believed FGC has an advantage (AOR: 5.05(3.02-8.03)), the deep-rooted cultural perspective of the respondent (AOR: 1.85(1.09-3.13)), perception of FGC as part of own religion (AOR: 5.48(3.08-9.73), and, limited access for counseling service for FGC (AOR: 1.6(0.99-7.02)) emerged as significant factors influencing continuation of FGC in the future. It is believed that harmful traditional practices like FGC are not the responsibility of a single sector. Multiple sectors were expected to engage in ending FGC, most of the participants of this study agreed as there was a coordination body at the district level to work on overall anti-HTP activities including FGC, but the work of the coordination body was generally weak in performing recommended interventions. The level of coordination also varied from district to district.

• FGM
• FGC
• Afar region
• Baseline assessment
• Cross-Sectional
• Quantitative and Qualitative
• prevention
• multi-sectors

No suggested citation.

END-FGM in Afar Regional State Baseline Assessment study dataset has information on behavior, attitudes, social and gender norms to abandon FGC such as a number of communities that made public commitment to abandon FGC and community attitude towards the intention to continue FGC in the future. In addition, the dataset includes information regarding mothers receiving and psychosocial support through using different media outlets to learn about FGC and its complications. Related to the prevalence of FGC the datasets have information on the number of FGC practiced in girls, adolescents, and youth within the last two years period and the number of FGC practiced among female newborns within the last two years period. Finally, the dataset has information on multi-sectoral engagement in the responses against FGC. These are:

1.Health Service: These include health centers/health posts providing counseling and psychosocial support service, appropriate referral and health service for FGC complications, facility readiness in terms of human resources (Service availability and Readiness).

2. Social: rewarding family/communities who abandon FGC, support the efforts against end FGC, provide emotional support for uncut girls and Legal service: number of cases reported, reviewed, and got the appropriate legal response, provision of legal advisory service to the responsible stakeholders.

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