Engaging the entire ecosystem.
Ending FGM cannot be achieved by any single actor. RFLD's campaign engages six categories of stakeholders simultaneously — recognising that durable abandonment depends on alignment between traditional authority, religious leadership, justice institutions, education systems, health services, and survivors themselves.
Traditional leaders
Engagement with chiefs, queen mothers, and council elders — separating the cultural value of initiation from the practice of cutting, and supporting community declarations of abandonment.
Imams & pastors
Theological dialogues with Islamic and Christian leaders on the absence of religious basis for FGM, equipping them to use their authority to protect the bodily integrity of girls and women.
Police & magistrates
Training of law-enforcement actors on national anti-FGM laws — including Loi n° 2003-03 du 3 mars 2003 in Benin — and on victim-centred protocols that protect those who report.
Teachers & educators
Tools for teachers to identify at-risk girls, integrate FGM awareness into school programmes, and create safe spaces in which students can report threats.
Health workers
Training of medical staff on clinical care for women living with FGM, on psychosocial support for survivors, and on the Do No Harm framework that prevents the medicalisation of FGM.
Survivors as advocates
Survivors are not beneficiaries of the campaign — they are leaders within it. Trained as mentors and advocates, they carry the dialogue in their own communities with an authority no external voice can replace.
