Female genital mutilation (FGM), also known as female genital cutting, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and female circumcision, is the ritual cutting or removal of some or all of the external female genitalia. The practice is found in some countries of Africa, Asia and the Middle East, and within communities abroad from countries in which FGM is common. UNICEF estimated, in 2016, that 200 million women in 30 countries—Indonesia, Iraqi Kurdistan, Yemen, and 27 African countries—had been subjected to one or more types of FGM.Typically carried out by a traditional circumciser using a blade, FGM is conducted from days after birth to puberty and beyond. In half of the countries for which national figures are available, most girls are cut before the age of five. Procedures differ according to the country or ethnic group. They include removal of the clitoral hood (type 1-a) and clitoral glans (1-b); removal of the inner labia; and removal of the inner and outer labia and closure of the vulva. In this last procedure, known as infibulation, a small hole is left for the passage of urine and menstrual fluid; the vagina is opened for intercourse and opened further for childbirth.The practice is rooted in gender inequality, attempts to control womens sexuality, and ideas about purity, modesty, and beauty. It is usually initiated and carried out by women, who see it as a source of honour, and who fear that failing to have their daughters and granddaughters cut will expose the girls to social exclusion.
The work of Jack Annon in 1976 also saw the creation of the PLISSIT model that sought to create a structured system of levels for the therapist to follow.The mid-1980s saw the medicalization of sex therapy, with a primary focus on male sexual dysfunction. The 1990s brought penile injections and medications such as Viagra as well as the marketing of antidepressants for their delayed ejaculation side-effects. Hormone therapy was introduced to assist both male and female sexual dysfunction. Dilators were used to treat women with vaginismus and surgical procedures to increase the size of the vaginal opening and treat vulvar pain were also introduced. See also
Certified Sex Addiction Therapist
Certified Sex Therapist
List of sex therapists
Sensate focus
Society for Sex Therapy and Research

References

Bibliography

Kaplan, Helen Singer, The New Sex Therapy: Active Treatment Of Sexual Dysfunctions, New York, Brunner/Mazel, 1974. ISBN 0-87630-083-2
Robboy, Alex Caroline, "How to Become a Sex Therapist"