at Waldfriede Hospital in Berlin, Germany. Since its opening in 2013, more than 600 women affected by FGM have sought the center’s medical help. The interview has been slightly condensed. Editors
What do you think are the most important actions to achieve the goal (zero tolerance) of this day? Apart from the professional help you give, what can we do as individuals to end FGM?
The most important measure in the fight against FGM is widespread education and schooling of children, locally, in their home countries. In general, the public should be sensitized to the issue, information on FGM should be bundled and further developed on an interdisciplinary basis, and professional competencies should be strengthened. Thus, in 2020, we founded the “Berlin FGM C Coordination Office.” This is a cooperation of three organizations: the family planning center BALANCE, Terre des Femmes, and the Desert Flower Center at the Waldfriede Hospital. The coordination office aims to link the exis