About us
About the FGM/C Coordination Centre
The nationwide FGM/C Coordination Centre offers counseling, prevention, information and support on all issues related to female genital mutilation (FGM/C).
The aim of the Coordination Centre is to contribute to an Austria-wide need-based and demand-oriented care for women and girls affected by FGM/C as well as to the prevention of this form of violence against women. We therefore offer counselling and care in medical, psychosocial and legal terms and carry out prevention and education work. In addition, the aim is to raise public awareness of the issue and to train relevant professional groups in interacting with affected women. The coordination centre is intended to act as a platform and to provide assistance in the respective region.
The FGM/C Coordination Centre is an initiative of the Women’s Health Centre FEM Süd, the Austrian Red Cross, the Women’s Health Centres Linz and Salzburg and the MEN Men’s Health Centre. The aim of the FGM/C Coordination Centre is to be a contact point for those seeking help, experts, professionals and communities and to link all actors with each other.
Our access to experts and communities enables us to provide help in a straightforward and individual way. With our approach, experience and networking, we raise awareness of the issue at all levels – from the individual to the public.
Frauengesundheitszentrum FEM SÜD
FEM Süd stands for women’s health promotion on an individual as well as structural level. Located in the Clinic Favoriten (formerly: Kaiser-Franz-Josef-Spital) in Vienna, FEM Süd forms the association “Institute for Women’s and Men’s Health” together with the Women’s Health Centre FEM and the Men’s Health Centre MEN. In the form of women-specific counselling, courses and workshops, the multilingual and interdisciplinary team of FEM South provides support in health and psychosocial issues. FEM Süd focuses primarily on the needs and concerns of socially disadvantaged women and aims to break down access barriers to the health system among this group. As a centre of excellence for female genital mutilation (FGM/C), FEM Süd has also been dedicated for more than 15 years to the prevention of and support for women and girls who are affected or threatened by FGM/C. The services include counselling and support for women and girls affected or at risk, aswell as counselling and workshops for women from the affected communities in their first language and training for peers.
Austrian Red Cross
The Austrian Red Cross is committed to a humane society worth living in. It acts independently as well as non-partisan according to the seven principles: Humanity, Impartiality, Neutrality, Independence, Voluntariness, Unity and Universality. With more than 74,000 volunteers and about 8,800 full-time employees, it is one of 192 Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and part of the largest humanitarian movement with more than 13 million volunteers worldwide.
For many years, the Austrian Red Cross has been committed to the prevention of violence, especially against older women, and advocates for their rights, dignity and well-being. Since 2019, the Red Cross, together with the regional associations of Styria, Tyrol, Carinthia and Vorarlberg, is also dedicated to the prevention of FGM/C and offers free counseling and workshops for affected and vulnerable women, as well as training for professionals and multipliers from affected communities.
Frauengesundheitszentrum Linz
The Women’s Health Center Linz is a competence center for women. All its decisions and actions focus on the needs of girls and women of all ages, regardless of their social, cultural or ethnic background, way of life, sexual orientation.
The Women’s Health Center Linz recognizes the personal responsibility of every woman and regards her as an expert in her own health. Self-determination and self-confidence should be the decisive factors for her physical, mental and social well-being. The Women’s Health Center is a meeting place where women are advised and accompanied from a holistic point of view. The promotion of health is given the highest priority.
The Women’s Health Center Linz sees itself as a representative of the interests of its visitors and clients and advocates for the improvement of women’s lives and health. It takes a critical look at the existing health care system and influences the public discussion of health issues.
FrauenGesundheitsZentrum Salzburg
The FrauenGesundheitsZentrum Salzburg is an association where women and girls receive information, advice and support in health and psychological issues. The FrauenGesundheitsZentrum Salzburg wants to support every single woman in maintaining or regaining her health. The goal is to promote the individual health of women and girls in the province of Salzburg (empowerment). Not every woman has the opportunity to choose her living conditions in a way that is conducive to her health. Therefore, the FrauenGesundheitsZentrum Salzburg is committed to social and structural measures to improve women’s health in the province of Salzburg.
Our services:
Women’s health promotion in the form of lectures, courses and discussions: in doing so, the FrauenGesundheitsZentrum Salzburg takes into account the individual needs of the participants (according to life stages, ethnic origin, impairment, specific concerns).
We counsel women and girls in different life situations: e.g. relationship problems, eating disorders, pregnancy conflict, anxiety and depression and many other topics.
We support women in making informed decisions about health issues.
Self-help groups for those affected and discussion groups for relatives help in coping with illnesses and stresses.
MEN Männergesundheitszentrum
The Men’s Health Center MEN has been advising and informing men and boys on all aspects of health since its foundation in 2002. It implements health promotion projects, taking into account the specific needs of men and boys in all their diversity. Depending on age, personal background or life situation, suggestions and support for better health are given.
Stereotypes of male invulnerability, toughness and strength often form the background for a risky lifestyle and a lack of health awareness. The target group-oriented preparation and low-threshold design of the offers is therefore of particular importance in order for health promotion.
In the area of female genital mutilation (FGM/C), MEN has focused in recent years on training male peers and workshops with relevant male target groups. The participation and involvement of men is seen as an essential contribution to solving this form of violence against women and girls, which is why the ongoing work on male-specific education is the declared goal here.
