Female genital cutting: nursing implications

Female genital cutting (FGC) is a practice that affects millions of girls and women worldwide. This deeply rooted practice has cultural, religious, and psychosexual meaning to its practitioners, but it also carries long-term physical and mental complications. Decried as a human rights violation, nonetheless this practice is still carried out today. Nurses are in a unique position to contact and educate women who have been cut or are at risk for mutilation. To advocate for these women, a thorough understanding of the practice of FGC, its cultural overtones, religious implications, and psychosexual effects is needed.