33 Countries of Origin’ Profiles

SENEGAL the Soninké is a religious requirement. Of women that have had FGM, there is a 52.4% rate of support for continuation, versus a low 2.6% rate of support among women who have not had FGM; generally the majority of men and women believe that this practice should be dismissed.21 There are some local empowerments and awareness-raising programmes against FGM/C implemented in 176 communities. Another common problem is domestic violence, there is not current statistics on the field but a UN study published in 2015 revealed 507 cases in Dakar, 263 in Thies, 279 in Kaolack, 227 in Diourbel, 201 in Louga, 176 in St Louis, 110 in Fatick, and 67 in Kaffrine; according to the Ong working there, the real incidence of the phenomenon is higher than the reported cases 22 . Some research shows that there is a certain social acceptance of the phenomenon, most people don’t seek for help, police prefers do not intervene and in some cases judges claimed lack of adequate proof for conviction 23 . There are shelter and accommodation facilities for victims, such as the National Women’s Assistance and Training Centre, dedicated to training women and providing them with support in the form of advice or counseling through its branches at the regional level, and the Ginddi counseling and guidance centre providing psychological and medical assistance to vulnerable women and girls 24 . 21 https ://www.idrc.ca/en/project/preventing-gender-based-violence-senegal 22 https ://www.ecoi.net/local_link/337229/466989_en.html 23 https ://www.genderindex.org/country/senegal/ 2 4 http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CEDAW%2f C%2fSEN%2f3-7&Lang=en