Researching Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) Intervention Programmes Linked to African Communities in the EU (REPLACE)

Project overview

The REPLACE project was a pilot project which used participatory action methods (PAR) to identify particular behaviours and attitudes which contribute to the perpetuation of FGM amongst practising communities in the EU. This was combined with behaviour change approaches to develop a new approach to tackling FGM which is grounded in research with FGM practising communities. This new approach recognised that the practice of FGM occurs within a wider socio-cultural context and the behaviours and decisions of others are critical in relation to the outcome of whether or not FGM is carried out.

The REPLACE Behaviour Change Framework is a cyclic model based on a combination of individualistic and socially-based behaviour change models. It describes how a community is influenced by the behaviour change of influential individuals. It is a cyclic model as it recognises that in order to achieve the goal of ending FGM, a number of cycles of behaviour change will need to take place in the community.

Project objectives

The REPLACE project aimed:

• To understand the barriers preventing the ending of FGM amongst Somali and Sudanese communities in the Netherlands and UK, using a participatory action research (PAR) approach.
• To map the antecedents for ending FGM identified by practising communities to behaviour change models and approaches.
• To evaluate the behaviour change content/approach of current FGM intervention materials.
• To produce a toolkit aimed at non-governmental (NGO) and civil society organisations (CBO), which provides a practical guide on how to use health behaviour change with targeted communities to end FGM.