scholarly journals Analysing Normative Influences on the Prevalence of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting among 0–14 Years Old Girls in Senegal: A Spatial Bayesian Hierarchical Regression Approach

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (7) ◽  
pp. 3822
Author(s):  
Ngianga-Bakwin Kandala ◽  
Chibuzor Christopher Nnanatu ◽  
Glory Atilola ◽  
Paul Komba ◽  
Lubanzadio Mavatikua ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Female Genital Mutilation ◽  
Deviance Information Criterion ◽  
Information Criterion ◽  
Hierarchical Regression ◽  
Traditional Practice ◽  
Bayesian Hierarchical ◽  
Genital Mutilation ◽  
Female Genital ◽  
Normative Influences

Background: Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) is a harmful traditional practice affecting the health and rights of women and girls. This has raised global attention on the implementation of strategies to eliminate the practice in conformity with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A recent study on the trends of FGM/C among Senegalese women (aged 15–49) which examined how individual- and community-level factors affected the practice, found significant regional variations in the practice. However, the dynamics of the practice among girls (0–14 years old) is not fully understood. This paper attempts to fill this knowledge gap by investigating normative influences in the persistence of the practice among Senegalese girls, identify and map ‘hotspots’. Methods: We do so by using a class of Bayesian hierarchical geospatial modelling approach implemented in R statistical software (R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria) using R2BayesX package. We employed Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) techniques for full Bayesian inference, while model fit and complexity assessment utilised deviance information criterion (DIC). Results: We found that a girl’s probability of cutting was higher if her mother was cut, supported FGM/C continuation or believed that the practice was a religious obligation. In addition, living in rural areas and being born to a mother from Diola, Mandingue, Soninke or Poular ethnic group increased a girl’s likelihood of being cut. The hotspots identified included Matam, Tambacounda and Kolda regions. Conclusions: Our findings offer a clearer picture of the dynamics of FGM/C practice among Senegalese girls and prove useful in informing evidence-based intervention policies designed to achieve the abandonment of the practice in Senegal.

scholarly journals Evaluating changes in the prevalence of female genital mutilation/cutting among 0-14 years old girls in Nigeria using data from multiple surveys: A novel Bayesian hierarchical spatio-temporal model

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. e0246661 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chibuzor Christopher Nnanatu ◽  
Glory Atilola ◽  
Paul Komba ◽  
Lubanzadio Mavatikua ◽  
Zhuzhi Moore ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Female Genital Mutilation ◽  
Survey Methods ◽  
Deviance Information Criterion ◽  
Information Criterion ◽  
Demographic And Health Surveys ◽  
Bayesian Hierarchical ◽  
Genital Mutilation ◽  
Combining Data ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Female Genital

Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) is considered a public health and human rights concern, mainly concentrated in Africa, and has been targeted for elimination under the sustainable development goals. Interventions aimed at ending the practice often rely on data from household surveys which employ complex designs leading to outcomes that are not totally independent, thus requiring advanced statistical techniques. Combining data from multiple surveys within robust statistical framework holds promise to provide more precise estimates due to increased sample size, and accurately identify ‘hotspots’ and allow for assessment of changes over time. In this study, rich datasets from six (6) successive waves of the Nigeria Demographic and Health Surveys and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys undertaken between 2003 and 2016/17, were combined and analyzed in order to better assess changes in the likelihood and prevalence of FGM/C among 0-14-year old girls in Nigeria. We used Bayesian hierarchical regression models which explicitly accounted for the inherent spatial and temporal autocorrelations within the data while simultaneously adjusting for variations due to different survey methods and the effects of linear and non-linear covariates. Parameters were estimated using Markov chain Mote Carlo techniques and model fit assessments were based on Deviance Information Criterion. Results show that prevalence of FGM/C among 0–14 years old girls in Nigeria varied over time and across geographical locations and peaked in 2008 with a shift from South to North. A girl was more likely to be cut if her mother was cut, supported FGM/C continuation, or had no higher education. The effects of mother’s age, wealth and type of residence (urban-rural) were no longer significant in 2016. These results reflect the gains of interventions over the years, but also echo the belief that FGM/C is a social norm thus requiring tailored all-inclusive interventions for the total abandonment of FGM/C in Nigeria.

Cultural Beliefs, Perceptions, and Experiences on Female Genital Mutilation Among Women and Men: A Qualitative Analysis

2021 ◽  
pp. 088626052110152
Author(s):  
Alba González-Timoneda ◽  
Antonio Cano Sánchez ◽  
Marta González-Timoneda ◽  
Vicente Ruiz Ros
Keyword(s):  
Female Genital Mutilation ◽  
Cultural Beliefs ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Snowball Sampling ◽  
Traditional Practice ◽  
Genital Mutilation ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Lack Of Information ◽  
Data Saturation ◽  
Female Genital

The practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) is a deeply-rooted tradition that affects predominantly regions of Africa and Asia. Because of migration flows, FGM is an issue of increasing concern worldwide. FGM is now carried out in Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand, and more specifically among immigrant communities from countries where it is common. This study aims to assess the experience, knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs related to FGM of migrant women and men from FGM-affected countries residing in Spain and the United Kingdom. A phenomenological qualitative approach was used. Participants (n=23) were recruited by using the snowball sampling technique until data saturation was reached. Data were collected through 18 open-ended interviews and a focus group. Of the 23 participants, 20 women had undergone FGM. The following five themes were generated from interviews: (a) FGM practice development, (b) knowledge about the practice, (c) reasons for performing FGM, (d) attitudes toward continuing or abandoning the practice, and (e) criminalization of FGM. The study here presented identifies a lack of information, memory, and knowledge about the practice of FGM and typology among women with FGM. The justification of the practice seems to be based on a multifactorial model, where sociocultural and economic factors, sexual factors, hygienic-esthetic factors, and religious-spiritual factors take on a greater role in the analysis of the interviews carried out. The participants practically unanimously agree to advocate the abandonment and eradication of this harmful traditional practice. The knowledge displayed in this study may provide a basis for improving awareness and healthcare in such collectives, aiming the eradication of this harmful traditional practice.

Prosecution of female genital mutilation in the United Kingdom: Injustice at the intersection of good public health intentions and the criminal law

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 258-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marge Berer
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
Female Genital Mutilation ◽  
Public Health Issue ◽  
Traditional Practice ◽  
Genital Mutilation ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Health Intentions ◽  
Female Genital

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a harmful traditional practice and a serious public health issue in the countries where it is carried out. It is also a violation of the rights of the girls to whom it is done. The main action taken in the United Kingdom to stop FGM, has been to criminalise it. Public health measures, such as the provision of specialist clinics for those who experience complications of FGM have been implemented as well, and some education in schools is provided. This article is about the injustice that has arisen from the pursuit of prosecutions for FGM in the United Kingdom, in spite of good public health intentions. Since 2012, there have been four criminal cases, several arrests that never came to trial, and for reasons of safeguarding, an unknown number of investigations with the threat of girls being taken into care, and people stopped from travelling with girl children to visit their families in FGM-practising countries. To date, only one criminal case in 2019 – R v. N (FGM) – which is the main subject of this article, has resulted in a guilty verdict. This article outlines this history in relation to the criminal law and uses courtroom observation to analyse what happened in the 2019 case in detail. It argues that the conviction depended on medical opinion and the highly uncertain evidence of two children and was influenced by a spurious link to witchcraft that should never have been permitted in the courtroom. It argues that this conviction is unsafe and should be appealed. It further argues that to use protection orders only because a child’s mother had FGM, in the absence of any evidence of risk, is discriminatory and a form of impermissible racial/ethnic profiling. The article concludes that the United Kingdom should stop recording a history of FGM in women seeking healthcare. It calls for the current law against FGM to be reconsidered and replaced with positive measures for countering FGM which have the support and involvement of the community groups to whom they are addressed.

scholarly journals Genital Mutilation of Girls

2007 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 475-485 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lars Almroth ◽  
Susan Elmusharaf
Keyword(s):  
Social Workers ◽  
Health Risks ◽  
Female Genital Mutilation ◽  
Health Staff ◽  
Limited Effect ◽  
Traditional Practice ◽  
Migration Patterns ◽  
Genital Mutilation ◽  
The World ◽  
Female Genital

Female genital mutilation is a traditional practice affecting girls when their genitals are cut for social, cultural or other non-medical reasons. It is estimated that 3 million girls undergo the procedure every year, mainly in areas in Africa and Asia where it is traditionally practised, but owing to migration patterns, girls living in other parts of the world are also at risk. This article describes the practice of female genital mutilation in a changing world and outlines some aspects in relation to female genital mutilation in girls and women that health staff, teachers, social workers and others should pay attention to. Knowledge regarding complications is important for healthcare, but when complications have been used as arguments against the practice this has had limited effect. Information regarding health risks has to be integrated into culturally sensitive approaches based on human rights and improving the situation for girls and women in order to reach a point where genital mutilation of girls will be generally abandoned.

scholarly journals What Makes a Woman? Case Studies Documenting The Reasons for and Circumstances of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting in Indonesia, Ethiopia and Kenya

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tasneem Kakal ◽  
Irwan Hidayana ◽  
Berhanu Abeje ◽  
Tabither Gitau ◽  
Maryse Kok ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Young Women ◽  
Female Genital Mutilation ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Female Genital Cutting ◽  
Traditional Practice ◽  
Genital Mutilation ◽  
Female Bodies ◽  
Female Genital

Abstract Background: Female genital cutting/mutilation is a harmful traditional practice that violates women’s rights and has adverse health consequences. This paper presents the reasons for and circumstances of female genital mutilation/ cutting (FGM/C) in specific settings of three countries – Indonesia, Ethiopia and Kenya.Methods: Data were collected through a household survey with young people (15-24 years) and through focus group discussions, in-depth interviews and key informant interviews with youth and community stakeholders in 2016 and 2017. Descriptive statistics and thematic content analysis were conducted.Results: The study findings confirm some of the reasons for FGM/C documented by previous studies, noting that these reasons are strongly interconnected, and gender norms are the underlying driver. In all three settings, these reasons drive the alterations of female bodies to result in a ‘cultured’ body that is acceptable to the patriarchal status quo. This results in the ‘pure body’ in Indonesia, the ‘tame’ body in Ethiopia and the ‘adult body’ in Kenya. Health workers and parents play an important role in decision-making around FGM/C in all settings. In Kenya, in particular, young women negotiate their role in decision-making around FGM/C as they are older at the time of circumcision. The study reveals how the changing legal and social contexts in each setting bring about changes in the tradition of FGM/C resulting in medicalization of FGM/C in Indonesia, a lowered age of cutting for girls in Kenya and the increasingly underground practice of FGM/C in Ethiopia.Conclusions: The three cases demonstrate the huge variation in the practice of FGM/C and the social meaning attributed to it by young women and their communities. There is a need to further explore the role of parents in decision-making. Due to the links between the different drivers of FGM/C within each context, the study concludes that context-specific strategies need to be adopted by interventions to create long-lasting change.

Prevalence of Female Genital Mutilation among reproductive age women in Ethiopia: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Atlaw ◽  
Kenbon Seyoum ◽  
Habtamu Gezahegn
Keyword(s):  
Publication Bias ◽  
Female Genital Mutilation ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Reproductive Age ◽  
Female Genital Cutting ◽  
Traditional Practice ◽  
Genital Mutilation ◽  
Pooled Prevalence ◽  
Genital Cutting ◽  
Female Genital

Abstract Background: - Female genital mutilation (FGM) is the most common harmful traditional practice. Which is characterized by partial or total removal of the female external genitalia for non-therapeutic reasons. Globally, FGM affects about 130 million women and girls. Female Genital cutting (FGC) is a harmful traditional practice which affects the physical and mental health of girls and women. Methods: - Review and meta-analysis was conducted using the guideline of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA). Both published and unpublished articles were searched. Articles were searched from different databases like PubMed, Popline, AJOL, EMBASE and gray literature like Google scholar and Google. Articles were searched using terms like “ prevalence ”, “ magnitude”, “female genital cutting” “female genital mutilation”, and “female circumcision” . Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Critical Appraisal-Checklist for Analytical Cross Sectional Studies were used to assess the quality of the included paper. Egger’s test and I 2 statistics were used to assess Publication bias and heterogeneity respectively. Result and discussion: - About thirteen studies with total participants of 7850 were included for systematic review and meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence of female genital mutilation among reproductive age women in Ethiopia was 87.5%: 95% CI (84.25, 90.78). ). I square test statistics showed high heterogeneity (I 2 =94.4, p=0.000) and Egger’s test was done to check for publication bias, but the test has revealed that there is no statistical significant publication bias (p-value=0.374). Conclusion: - The pooled prevalence of female genital mutilation is high in Ethiopia. Subgroup analysis does not revealed significant difference among different region found in the country.

scholarly journals What Works and What Does Not: A Discussion of Popular Approaches for the Abandonment of Female Genital Mutilation

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Elise B. Johansen ◽  
Nafissatou J. Diop ◽  
Glenn Laverack ◽  
Els Leye
Keyword(s):  
Health Professionals ◽  
Female Genital Mutilation ◽  
Change Agents ◽  
Limited Resources ◽  
Traditional Practice ◽  
Genital Mutilation ◽  
What Works ◽  
Effective Interventions ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Female Genital

The prevalence of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is reducing in almost all countries in which it is a traditional practice. There are huge variations between countries and communities though, ranging from no change at all to countries and communities where the practice has been more than halved from one generation to the next. Various interventions implemented over the last 30–40 years are believed to have been instrumental in stimulating this reduction, even though in most cases the decrease in prevalence has been slow. This raises questions about the efficacy of interventions to eliminate FGM and an urgent need to channel the limited resources available, where it can make the most difference in the abandonment of FGM. This paper is intended to contribute to the design of more effective interventions by assessing existing knowledge of what works and what does not and discusses some of the most common approaches that have been evaluated: health risk approaches, conversion of excisers, training of health professionals as change agents, alternative rituals, community-led approaches, public statements, and legal measures.

scholarly journals Female genital mutilation – why does it still exist in Africa?

2015 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Annika Schmöker ◽  
Faustine Kyungu Nkulu Kalengayi
Keyword(s):  
Gender Inequality ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Female Genital Mutilation ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Genital Mutilation ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Underlying Causes ◽  
Female Genital

Abstract Female genital mutilation (FGM) includes all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia for non-medical reasons. FGM is practised in many parts of the world – including 28 African countries, some countries in the Middle East and Asia, and some population groups in Central and South America. Its prevalence rates range from 0.6% up to 97.9%, and it has been classified as a violation of human and children’s rights. Consequently, several countries have passed laws against the practice and many international programmes have been implemented to abandon it. Yet, FGM still prevails in many countries. This literature review aimed at identifying the underlying reasons for the perpetuation of FGM, ascertaining forces that foster its promotion and persistence and who is responsible for pushing its continuation. The main goal was to try to understand the underlying causes that make FGM resistant against initiatives and campaigns targeting its elimination. A literature search was carried out using several databases. All sources that approached the topic of FGM were incorporated including literature reviews, systematic reviews, qualitative and quantitative as well as mixed-method studies that described attitudes towards FGM and factors associated with its practice. Different factors that were interlinked could be identified at the individual, interpersonal, organisational/institutional as well as the community/societal level as the underlying causes of the perpetuation for FGM. These factors varied within and between different settings, and include individual characteristics such as parents’ level of education, place of residence, personal beliefs (aesthetics, health benefits, hygiene) about FGM as well as the medicalisation of FGM and the involvement of health care professionals at the institutional level. Cultural factors like gender inequality, social norms and pressure also played an important role. Surprisingly, no evidence that supported religious motives could be found in any of the three monotheistic religions. This review suggests that the reasons behind the performance of FGM differ between and within countries and contexts, but cannot be found in the scriptures even though it is mainly practiced by Muslims. Girls with low education living in small Muslim communities, in rural areas in Africa and whose parents especially the mother had a low educational level, were at increased risk of undergoing FGM. Successful actions to eliminate this practice require a balance between respect of culture and human rights. Practising communities should be involved in each step of every programme. Finally, it is crucial to target the young generations through education, women empowerment and reduction of gender inequality.

scholarly journals An Evaluation of the Impact of Media Campaign Against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in the Rural Communities of Enugu State, Nigeria

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (14) ◽  
pp. 37
Author(s):  
Joseph Oluchukwu Wogu ◽  
Chinenye Amonyeze ◽  
Raphael Oluwasina Babatola Folorunsho ◽  
Henry E. Aloh
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Cultural Values ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Female Genital Mutilation ◽  
Media Campaign ◽  
Genital Mutilation ◽  
The Media ◽  
Enugu State ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Female Genital

This paper investigates the impact of media campaign against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in the rural areas of Enugu State. One hundred and sixty three women attending the antenatal clinics in six rural communities and twenty-four heads of Women groups were selected as sample for this cross-sectional survey. Structured questionnaire and interview were used to collect data while analysis of the data was done with SPSS version 20.0. The results reveal among others that the media campaign against FGM in Enugu state is ineffective. It further reveals that cultural values (51%), poor network reception (23%), epileptic power supply (18%), inaccessible media, and the nature of the content of the campaign are responsible for the ineffectiveness. Given the findings, the researchers recommends the modernization of the media and the contents of its FGM campaign for rural reach/accessibility, the development of pro-Igbo cultural programmes against FGM practice, and the use of visual methods to establish/prove the relationship between FGM, infections/diseases and maternal deaths. Further empirical research on FGM – maternal health care in Enugu State is recommended.

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