Our impact

Over the past 5 years (2017-2021), GAMS Belgium is :

Since its creation in 1996, GAMS Belgium has contributed to:

  • The vote of a specific law in 2000 to protect girls from female genital mutilation and punish the perpetrators
  • Advocacy with the government to have FGM recognized as a persecution in the sense of the Geneva Convention which can give right to international protection. Today, more than 2,000 girls have obtained refugee status on the basis of a risk of FGM
  • The introduction for the first time of the issue of FGM in the National Action Plan (NAP) against violence of 2011-2015. Since then, FGM has always been included in the NAPs against violence
  • Advocacy for the creation of two multidisciplinary centers for the care of women who have been circumcised (including clitoral reconstruction). Advocacy started in June 2008 with the Minister of Health Mrs. Onkelinx, the two centers (CHU St-Pierre and UZ Gent) were created in 2014
  • The creation of an FGM pathway within the reception network for asylum seekers coordinated by Fedasil since 2017
  • The training of FGM-aware midwives in hospitals and FGM referents at the SAJ in Brussels
  • The training of peer educators to raise awareness in the communities concerned and accompany women in their efforts since 2012. To date, more than 100 peer educators have been trained during the different sessions

 

Prizes and labels obtained  by GAMS

  • 2005: Khadidiatou Diallo, founding president of GAMS, is named Woman of the Year (Prix Marie Popelin) by Conseil des femmes francophones de Belgique (CFFB)
  • 2007: GAMS Belgium received in November the Micheline Van Caillie-Bertrand Award from the Medical Women’s Association of Belgium
  • 2015: Talon Wallon awarded to Halimatou Barry, coordinator of GAMS activities in Wallonia by the Parliament of Wallonia
  • 2017: Jeanne Van Quickenborne Award for her Digital StoryTelling project
  • 2017: Khadidiatou Diallo was elected Patron of the Institute for Equality between Women and Men (IEFH) on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the IEFH
  • 2021: Diversity Label obtained in 2021 by the Brussels Region and Actiris

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Verbatims of persons accompanied, of professionals

When my family rejected me because I ran away from domestic violence, GAMS opened its arms to me. It gave me hope - Guinean woman, fled a violent husband
I learned a lot from this training. I  feel better equipped to accompany residents… I’m going to hang up the prevalence card in my office tomorrow! - Nurse in the Medical Office of a asylum seekers centre
It’s the first time I’ve talked about my excision to someone… At home, it’s taboo. It’s difficult but it was good to talk about it. - 27 year old lady from Guinea, in Belgium for 5 months
Before I started the Peer educators training, I didn’t know that I could be so involved. I was not ready to talk about FGM. I met beautiful people, I got out of my house. I am ready to share what I have learned, I am ready to commit myself to a project - Burkinabe woman, trained in 2022 as a peer educator