Phoenix 24
Improved detection exposes trauma carried across borders.
Lisbon | July 2026
Portugal recorded 292 cases of female genital mutilation during 2025, representing a 15 percent increase from the previous year, according to figures released by the country’s Directorate-General of Health. Euronews reported that the cases involved women and girls living in Portugal, but the procedures were not performed within Portuguese territory.
The distinction is essential because the statistics do not indicate that hundreds of new mutilations occurred inside the country during the reporting period. Instead, healthcare professionals identified women who had previously been subjected to the practice, often years earlier and before arriving in Portugal.
Most registered cases involved immigrant women originating from Guinea-Bissau, who represented 70.5 percent of the total. Women from Guinea accounted for another 20.9 percent, while additional cases involved people from countries including Gambia, Senegal and Nigeria.
Female genital mutilation is prohibited by law in both Guinea-Bissau and Guinea. Guinea-Bissau criminalized the practice in 2011, while Guinea introduced a legal prohibition in 2008. Its persistence demonstrates that legislation alone may be insufficient when deeply rooted social expectations continue operating within families and communities.
Portuguese health services detected many cases during maternity care. Approximately 42.5 percent were identified during childbirth, 15.8 percent during the postpartum period and 14.7 percent through prenatal monitoring.
Other cases emerged outside pregnancy-related services. Hospitals identified around 15.1 percent, while primary-care consultations accounted for approximately 12 percent. These figures demonstrate the importance of preparing professionals across the entire health system rather than concentrating detection exclusively within obstetrics.
Lisbon and the Tagus Valley registered the largest number of cases, reflecting the region’s concentration of communities originating from countries where the practice remains present. The municipality of Amadora and Professor Doctor Fernando Fonseca Hospital reported particularly significant numbers.
The official bulletin also classified the cases according to the form of mutilation recorded. Type I, involving partial or complete removal of external genital tissue, represented 47.9 percent. Type II accounted for 46.9 percent and involved more extensive removal of external genital structures.
The average age at which the affected women had been subjected to the practice was 7.7 years. In the overwhelming majority of cases, it occurred before the age of nine, meaning the decision was imposed during childhood without meaningful consent or understanding of its consequences.
The average age of the women when their cases entered the Portuguese health record was 30. The difference between the age of the procedure and the age of detection illustrates how the physical and psychological effects can remain undocumented for decades.
Female genital mutilation has no medical benefit and can produce immediate and long-term consequences. These may include severe pain, infections, complications during menstruation, sexual-health problems, childbirth risks and enduring psychological trauma.
Its impact can become particularly visible during pregnancy and delivery, when scar tissue and anatomical changes may complicate examinations or medical procedures. Specialized care is therefore necessary to protect both the patient and the newborn while avoiding further trauma.
Portugal recognizes female genital mutilation as a serious human-rights violation and a form of gender-based violence. The national health authority has emphasized that detection must be accompanied by respectful treatment, confidentiality and appropriate physical and psychological support.
Healthcare workers require specific preparation because patients may not initially disclose what happened to them. Language barriers, fear of judgment, distrust of institutions and the normalization of the practice within a community can make communication difficult.
Portugal has offered postgraduate training on the subject to health professionals for approximately a decade. Authorities believe this investment has improved the capacity of doctors, nurses and other specialists to identify, record and manage cases more effectively.
The Directorate-General of Health cautioned that the annual increase in registrations does not necessarily indicate that the practice itself is becoming more frequent. It may instead demonstrate that health professionals are detecting situations that previously remained invisible or were not entered into the electronic health-record system.
This interpretation changes the meaning of the statistics. A higher number can reveal a serious continuing problem while also showing that institutions are becoming more capable of recognizing affected women and connecting them with specialized services.
Female genital mutilation continues to be practiced in 31 countries, mainly in Africa but also within certain communities in the Middle East and Asia. Its persistence is often maintained through social pressure rather than a single religious or cultural explanation.
In some communities, it is presented as a transition into adulthood. In others, it is intended to control female sexuality or is treated as evidence of chastity, family honor or social acceptance.
The practice may also be connected to marriage eligibility or inheritance rights, particularly in rural environments where rejecting it can expose families and girls to exclusion. Parents may therefore continue the procedure even when they understand some of its dangers because they fear the social consequences of refusing.
Effective prevention requires more than punishment. Authorities must work with community leaders, schools, healthcare professionals, families and survivors to challenge the beliefs that allow the practice to continue across generations.
Engagement must avoid stigmatizing entire migrant populations. Women affected by mutilation are not responsible for the violence imposed upon them, and communities should not be reduced to one harmful practice. Prevention becomes more effective when it combines legal clarity with education, trust and culturally informed dialogue.
Portuguese institutions are also seeking to amplify the voices of survivors. Their experiences can help health professionals understand the long-term consequences and can challenge the silence that often protects the practice from scrutiny.
The 292 recorded cases represent individual lives rather than an abstract public-health indicator. Each registration describes a childhood decision whose consequences followed a woman across years, borders and different stages of her life.
Portugal’s figures reveal both the persistence of the violation and the importance of identifying those who need care. Better records cannot reverse what happened, but they can prevent suffering from remaining invisible and help protect a new generation from enduring the same harm.
Phoenix24 | Protection begins when silence no longer hides violence. La protección comienza cuando el silencio deja de ocultar la violencia.