Improving the documentation of female genital mutilation or cutting (FGM/C) abandonment interventions and their evaluations

Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) is internationally recognized as a violation of human rights. Consequently, there have been extensive efforts to promote the abandonment of the practice. There is limited evidence on the impact of many of the efforts, in part because many interventions are implemented by small organizations with inadequate resources to document and evaluate their activities. The complex nature of FGM/C interventions, as with other interventions aimed at addressing violence against women and girls, also makes it difficult to adequately document what is done, how, when, and with what results. Nonetheless, it is important that implementing organizations make every effort to document and evaluate their interventions, and share the outcomes and lessons learned to ensure accountability and for others to learn from, adapt, replicate, and scale up successful interventions. In this Guidance Note, we provide guidance to help organizations that are implementing FGM/C abandonment interventions better document and report on their programmatic and evaluation activities