Community Engagement

What is community engagement?
Community engagement means different things to different people. However, at the National FGM Centre, we use it to refer to the process and practice in which individuals of a particular community participate in an intervention programme to achieve a common goal. By this definition, our community engagement approach serves as a tool for facilitating the process of an intervention programme and for achieving specific objectives in preventing FGM and other harmful practices.
At the National FGM Centre, we recognise that communities possess a wealth of knowledge and resources that can be harnessed to address issues that affect them such as FGM, breast flattening, and Spirit Possession, Witchcraft, and Ritualistic Abuse. Therefore, our community engagement methods emphasise a bottom-up, community-led approach to tackling FGM and other harmful practices.

What do we do differently?
We aim to use the REPLACE Cyclic Framework for Social Norm Transformation, developed by the University of Coventry in partnership with other EU organisations. The framework consists of five elements that represent the flow of motivation and behaviour change within a community. It emphasises the important role played by community leaders, influential people, and peer group champions in achieving social norm transformation.
Why Commission Us?
At the National FGM Centre, we pride ourselves on the quality and care of the services we provide to families, young people, and professionals. If you would be interested in finding out more about the services we offer, head to our ‘Commission Us’ section.
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