Circumcision of the vulva – female genital mutilation
Omskärelse av snippan | Könsstympning - engelskaCircumcision of the vulva (the external female sex organs) is also known as female genital mutilation. This means that someone has cut away or damaged part of the vulva. Help is available if you have been subjected to female genital mutilation and it’s affecting how you feel physically or emotionally. Note: graphic images!
What can it look like?
Female genital mutilation can be done in different ways. Sometimes, the outer parts of the vulva have been damaged, or some part of them has been cut away. Sometimes, you can hardly see that anything has been cut. Here are some examples of what it could look like:
You can still enjoy sex
- No matter what your vagina and vulva look like, you can still feel lust and enjoy sex, both by yourself and with others.
- The main part of your clitoris is inside your body, so you still have a clitoris even if the top has been cut away. The entire clitoris is very sensitive when it comes to sex.
- There are also many other parts of your body that feel good when touched.
- You can still have an orgasm even if you’ve been circumcised.
The circumcision may cause you problems
Some circumcised girls and women do not have any problems at all. Here are some of the possible problems you could experience if you are circumcised:
- You may have trouble peeing. It might take a long time or hurt. You could get urinary tract infections often.
- You may experience problems with your period. It may be painful or it may be hard for the menstrual blood to flow out.
- It can feel tight or hurt when you have sexual intercourse. It can hurt so much that it´s not possible to have sexual intercourse.
- Your vulva and other parts of your vagina might hurt. You could have scars and lumps that hurt.
Help is available
You can go to a youth clinic (ungdomsmottagning) or healthcare centre (vårdcentral) if you have problems caused by female genital mutilation (FGM). You can talk to the school nurse if you go to school.
There are clinics in three different places in Sweden that specialise in treating problems caused by FGM. You can go to a clinic no matter where you live in Sweden (the links lead to websites in Swedish).
- AMEL-mottagningen, Stockholm
- Aminamottagningen, Uppsala
- Vulvamottagningen Angereds närsjukhus, Göteborg
- A midwife (a nurse specially trained in the female reproductive system) or doctor can check whether you’ve been circumcised. You might not be completely sure whether you’ve been circumcised.
- If some part of your vagina has been sewn together, an operation can be performed to open it up again. This is sometimes necessary if you want to have sex or have a baby.
- You can get help to remove lumps on your clitoris if they are causing you pain.
- You can talk to someone if you are not doing well emotionally, for example because you are plagued by memories of being circumcised.
The staff have a duty to maintain confidentiality, which means they will not tell anyone that you are seeking care.
It is illegal to perform female genital mutilation
- It's completely up to you whether you want to tell anyone that you have been circumcised. It's also up to you whether you want to show anyone what it looks like. It’s not a crime to be circumcised.
- However, it is illegal to perform female genital mutilation (female circumcision) on someone else. Anyone who plans this type of circumcision, asks someone else to perform it, or performs it themselves is breaking the law. This is true even if you travel to a different country to have the circumcision performed there.
- Are you worried that someone will be subjected to female genital mutilation? Contact Social Services or the police. You can talk to your school nurse, or any other adult you trust.
