2. Promoting Sexual Health in Women With Fgm/C: The Underlying Ethics of Care

While a series of changes in the approaches to FGM/C health research and intervention have historically taken place, there has been an increased implementation of sexual health interventions for women with FGM/C over more than a decade. These interventions derive from health research data, but their epistemology and praxis are also informed by cultural representations of the clitoris and what it means to be ‘healthy’. This is the case, notably, for genital reconstructive surgeries, which are performed globally in spite of a lingering inconclusiveness regarding their general efficacy, Summary drawing from research in Ivory Coast and Canada, from the results of the Quebec Ministry of Health and Social Services- commission ED training module on FGM/C, as well as from the author’s clinical practice in mental health working with women with FGM/C, this presentation aims to illuminate the multifarious ethical underpinnings of such sexual health interventions. The overarching goal of this presentation is to share best practices in sexual health interventions in order to afford compassionate care, grounded in a reflexive and ethical professional practice.