Impact of the Stopcut Project on the Practice of Female Genital Mutilation/cutting in Southwest Nigeria: a Quasi-experimental Study

Abstract

Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) is a harmful cultural practice and human rights violation that remains prevalent in Nigeria, with weak law enforcement, limited public awareness, and deep-seated traditions impeding abandonment efforts. The StopCut project was implemented in Southwest Nigeria to protect women and girls from FGM/C. Employing a quasi-experimental approach with inverse probability weighting and household surveys from 12 Local Government Areas, the study found that participation in StopCut significantly increased knowledge of FGM/C consequences, awareness of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act, willingness to report cases, and actual reporting of FGM/C incidents within families. These findings highlight the effectiveness of StopCut in raising awareness, promoting reporting behaviors, and suggest the need to scale up the intervention to broader regions.