scholarly journals The role of the health sector in contributing to the abandonment of female genital mutilation

Med ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (5) ◽  
pp. 485-489
Author(s):  
Christina C. Pallitto ◽  
Wisal Ahmed
2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (11) ◽  
pp. 170860 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kensuke Nakata

Some male spiders exhibit female genital mutilation behaviour (FGM) by removing the female genital appendage (scape) to control the mating frequency of females. Female spiders have two, i.e. right and left, genital openings connected with separate spermathecae into which males transfer sperm successively using one pedipalp (secondary genitalia) at a time. Thus, males must complete at least two palpal insertions to fill both spermathecae, before FGM. The present study examined whether (i) scape removal is only associated with the second palpal insertion (one-action hypothesis) or (ii) two contralateral palpal insertions facilitate FGM, with each insertion cutting the basal part of the scape halfway (two-actions hypothesis). Experiments in which females were replaced after a male had made the first insertion did not support the one-action hypothesis, because scapes remained intact after the newly introduced virgin females received their first palpal insertion, which was the second insertion by the males. In comparison, mating experiments using two half-eunuchs (i.e. one of the palps of each male had been manually removed, forcing them to fill female spermatheca on one side only) supported the two-actions hypothesis. FGM was more frequent in females that received two contralateral palpal insertions than in females that received ipsilateral insertions.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 215013272093529
Author(s):  
Hina Shaikh ◽  
Karen A. McDonnell

Increased migration has given rise to more advocacy efforts against female genital mutilation or cutting (FGM/C), legislation that criminalizes the practice, and guidance to the health sector for managing care of affected groups. More women and girls who have been cut or who are at risk of FGM/C are migrating from regions where it is common to countries where it is not and interacting with health professionals and other community practitioners in these host countries. Despite numerous studies on the negative health impacts of FGM/C, little is known about toolkits on FGM/C that providers can use in their prevention and response efforts. We sought to explore the nature of Internet-based products referenced as toolkits and materials characteristic of toolkits aimed at different service providers who may interact with women and girls affected by FGM/C. Through an online search, we identified 45 toolkits and collected data about each one. We found that the toolkits targeted different audiences and offered a diverse set of information and resources. The majority of toolkits were aimed at health professionals and provided factual and epidemiological-focused content, yet many did not include research evidence, skills development application, or approaches for implementing the toolkit in practice. This review is the first completed in the area of FGM/C to show a rich diversity of online materials. Future toolkits can be improved with the provision of evidence-based information and practical skills development for use by health professionals in implementing best practices in working with women and girls affected by FGM/C.


2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 273-293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maree Pardy ◽  
Juliet Rogers ◽  
Nan Seuffert

Female genital cutting (FGC) or, more controversially, female genital mutilation, has motivated the implementation of legislation in many English-speaking countries, the product of emotive images and arguments that obscure the realities of the practices of FGC and the complexity of the role of the practitioner. In Australia, state and territory legislation was followed, in 2015, with a conviction in New South Wales highlighting the problem with laws that speak to fantasies of ‘mutilation’. This article analyses the positioning of Islamic women as victims of their culture, represented as performing their roles as vehicles for demonic possession, unable to authorize agency or law. Through a perverse framing of ‘mutilation’, and in the case through the interpretation of the term ‘mutilation’, practices of FGC as law performed by women are obscured, avoiding the challenge of a real multiculturalism that recognises lawful practices of migrant cultures in democratic countries.


BMJ ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 344 (mar14 1) ◽  
pp. e1361-e1361 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Simpson ◽  
K. Robinson ◽  
S. M. Creighton ◽  
D. Hodes

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 283-288
Author(s):  
Emma Nicolaas ◽  
Dwynwen Spargo

Migration has resulted in specialist community public health nurses (SCPHN), specifically SCPHN school nurses, encountering female genital mutilation (FGM) more commonly in practice, requiring them to upskill to offer support and raise awareness ( Robinson, 2011 ). A policy was critically analysed, and a literature review conducted, to identify evidence-based strategies to enable the SCPHNSN to effectively raise FGM awareness to school-aged pupils. The findings highlighted three themes – Education, cultural influence and community leader and FGM survivor engagement, which translated into practice as a SCPHNSN-led FGM education project ( Diop and Askew, 2009 , Adeniran et al. 2015 , Galukande et al. 2015 , Raible et al. 2017 , Connelly et al. 2018 , Johnson et al. 2018 ). A project such as this would enable the SCPHNSN to raise pupil awareness, increase knowledge of support services, achieving practice decline over time.


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