We offer comprehensive, culturally sensitive counseling for affected women and girls. Our approach includes individual counseling sessions in which we address health, psychosocial, and legal issues. We openly discuss topics such as pain, infections, and the options for reconstructive surgery following female genital mutilation. We also support women in dealing with government agencies and visiting doctors. Our work is based on a deep understanding of the cultural and emotional challenges faced by those affected, with a focus on empowerment and support.
Many of the women who come to us have endured traumatic experiences, often beyond genital mutilation itself. In addition to psychological support from trauma therapists, we offer art therapy to help women and girls process their experiences.
Group programs, such as discussion groups for women, men, and adolescents, serve to break the taboo surrounding the issue and create a safe space for dialogue.
Affected women, girls, and families receive counseling on all issues related to female genital mutilation. If necessary, a counselor accompanies affected women to doctor’s appointments, childbirth, and dilation procedures, as well as to government offices and meetings with attorneys.
We help women affected by health issues. To this end, we offer a specialized gynecological clinic. Our services include: specialist consultations, gynecological examinations, referrals for necessary treatments, and the preparation of medical reports for the asylum process. Our counseling center has its own examination room equipped for gynecological care.
The clinic is staffed by gynecologist Agata Romanski-Ordas and gynecologist Dr. Christoph Zerm, who possess the necessary expertise and many years of experience in the area of female genital mutilation, as well as the sensitivity required when working with affected women.
We collaborate with women’s hospitals in Düsseldorf and Neuss, which provide affected women with safe childbirth and surgical procedures to restore the vaginal opening.
Many of the women affected suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. We help them regain stability and offer them psychological support from a trauma therapist. In addition to female genital mutilation, they have often experienced war and violence, endured a long and arduous journey as refugees, and been separated from their families and loved ones.
Women and girls who have been affected by trauma can participate in group art therapy sessions led by art therapist Eva Schneehorst-Pfeifer. Individual art therapy sessions are also available. Through painting, these women and girls can express themselves, process their experiences, and better cope with crisis situations.
Group counseling takes place in discussion groups, divided into a women’s group, a men’s group, and a mixed youth group. The discussion groups provide a safe space and help break the taboo surrounding female genital mutilation. The group meetings are facilitated and supported by a counselor.
In the women’s group, affected women can share their experiences, pass on what they’ve learned, and support one another. There, they often find a kind of surrogate family and experience solidarity and a sense of community. In addition, we offer empowerment workshops for women and girls.
As partners of affected women and fathers of daughters, men are also affected by the issue of female genital mutilation. That is why our counseling center’s program also includes counseling for men, which is conducted by a male counselor. Men can advocate within their families for the protection of their daughters and say no to female genital mutilation. Counseling for men takes place in our counseling room at Himmelgeister Str. 107a, 40225 Düsseldorf.
Our counseling center offers advice and support to professionals. We assist them during conversations with affected women and parents. If necessary, a counselor will visit the school or daycare center if there is suspicion of an impending “vacation circumcision” and will conduct the parent meeting together with the teacher or childcare provider. We share our expertise on female genital mutilation and our many years of experience in counseling through lectures and training sessions. Every year, we host a symposium for professionals from specific fields such as health, social services, education, law enforcement, and the judiciary.
Our counseling center regularly trains new counselors for the nationwide helplines “Violence Against Women” and “Pregnant Women in Distress,” as well as the special representatives for gender-based persecution at the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, on the topic of female genital mutilation.
We provide tutoring to newly arrived children and teenagers. Women in need can enroll in our language and integration courses. These programs are designed to promote prevention and integration.
Through our newsletter, we provide you with regular, up-to-date information on the topic of female genital mutilation and our work. The newsletter is published quarterly and is sent free of charge as a PDF file via email.