Ms Els Leye
Assistant Professor

Els Leye is assistant professor attached to the International Centre for Reproductive Health at the Ghent University. She holds a master’s degree in Social and Cultural Welfare Studies and obtained her PhD in Comparative Sciences of Culture at the Ghent University in 2008, on the topic of female genital mutilation in Europe. She has a year-long expertise in the field of harmful cultural practices, and more specifically female genital mutilation (FGM), forced marriages and honour related violence. She is currently coordinator of the Focal Programme on Harmful Cultural Practices at the International Centre for Reproductive Health. She was co-founder and board member of the European Network for the Prevention of Harmful Traditional Practices from 2005 to 2009. She is co-founder and member of the board of the association La Palabre, which is establishing a refuge for vulnerable children and women in Senegal. She’s a member of the advisory board of the END FGM European Campaign and performed several consultancies, among others for several UN agencies and technical cooperations of Belgium and Germany. She was one of the principal investigators of the Study for the European Institute for Gender Equality, to map FGM in the EU (2012), and has many publications on her name on the topic of female genital mutilation and other harmful practices.
Publications of Els
2021 The added value of and resistance to the Istanbul Convention : a comparative study in 27 European member states and TurkeyEls Leye
2020 Towards a better estimation of prevalence of female genital mutilation in the European Union : a situation analysisLotte De Schrijver, Els Leye
2020 Institutional and contextual obstacles to sexuality education policy implementation in UgandaEls Leye, Kristien Michielsen
2020 The prevalence and risk of female genital mutilation/cutting among migrant women and girls in the Netherlands : an extrapolation methodEls Leye
2020 Transforming social norms to end FGM in the EU : an evaluation of the REPLACE ApproachEls Leye
2019 Debating medicalization of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) : learning from (policy) experiences across countriesEls Leye
2019 The association between women’s social position and the medicalization of female genital cutting in EgyptEls Leye
2019 Evaluation of a school based comprehensive sexuality education program among very young adolescents in rural UgandaEls Leye, Kristien Michielsen
2019 Process evaluation of a comprehensive sexuality education intervention in primary schools in South Western UgandaEls Leye, Kristien Michielsen
2019 Process evaluation of a comprehensive sexuality education intervention in primary schools in South Western UgandaEls Leye, Kristien Michielsen
2019 Marriage and migration : Moroccan women’s views on partner choice, arranged and forced marriage in BelgiumEls Leye
2019 The practice of female genital mutilation across the world : data availability and approaches to measurementEls Leye
2018 'Doing hymen reconstruction' : an analysis of perceptions and experiences of Flemish gynaecologistsEls Leye, Emilomo Ogbe
2018 'Girls have more challenges; they need to be locked up' : a qualitative study of gender norms and the sexuality of young adolescents in UgandaEls Leye, Kristien Michielsen
2018 Adolescents' sexual wellbeing in Southwestern Uganda : a cross-sectional assessment of body image, self-esteem and gender equitable normsEls Leye, Kristien Michielsen
2018 Sexual health of very young adolescents in South Western Uganda : a cross-sectional assessment of sexual knowledge and behaviorEls Leye, Kristien Michielsen
2018 Female genital mutilation/cutting in Italy : an enhanced estimation for first generation migrant women based on 2016 survey dataEls Leye
2018 Health sector involvement in the management of female genital mutilation/cutting in 30 countriesEls Leye
2017 Assessing sexual health of very young adolescents in SW UgandaOlivier Degomme, Els Leye, Kristien Michielsen
2017 Implementation of sexuality education policies in Uganda : obstacles and challengesEls Leye, Kristien Michielsen