Female Genital Cutting: Confronting Cultural Challenges and Health Complications Across the Lifespan

Farage, Miranda A.; Miller, Kenneth W.; Tzeghai, G.; Azuka, Charles E; Sobel, Jack D.; Ledger, William J.

doi:10.2217/whe.14.63

Cited by 18 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…All participation was voluntary, and participants were allowed to 165 exit the interview/focus group if they desired. (Essén et al 2000, Hill et al 2012, Farage et al 2015, Abdulcadir et al 2016, Banke-Thomas et al 2018 and mutual respect has given way to fear and distrust (Hernandez 2007). understand this mechanism, it is clear that these are aversions to care when faced with a situation deemed undesirable.…”

Section: Ethical Statementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Avoiding obstetrical interventions among US-based Somali migrant women: a qualitative study

et al. 2019

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Yet unknown is how they avoid obstetrical 17 interventions. This study sought to identify perceived protective mechanisms used to avoid obstetric 18 interventions as well as the underpinning factors that influence aversion to obstetrical interventions by 19 Somali refugee women. 20 Design: A descriptive, exploratory qualitative study purposively sampled Somali refugee women recruited 21 via snowball technique in Franklin County, Ohio, United States. Data was collected through audio-22 recordings of individual interviews and focus groups conducted in English and Somali languages. The 23 collected data were transcribed and analyzed using thematic analyses. 24 Results: Forty Somali refugee women aged 18 to 42 years were recruited. Participants reported engaging 25 in four perceived protective mechanisms to avoid obstetrical interventions during pregnancy and childbirth: 26 1) intentionally not seeking or misleading prenatal care, 2) changing hospitals and/or providers, 3) delayed 27 hospital arrival during labor, and 4) refusal of care. Underpinning all four avoidance mechanisms were their 28 significant fear of obstetrical interventions, and perceived lack of choice in their care processes as 29 influenced by: cultural and/or religious beliefs, feeling judged or undervalued by service providers, and a 30 lack of privacy provided to them while receiving care. 31 Conclusion: Like every woman, Somali women also have a right to choose or refuse care. If the intention 32 is to improve access to and experiences with care for this population, building trust, addressing their fears 33 and concerns, and respecting their culture is a critical first step. This should be well established prior to the 34 need for critical decisions surrounding pregnancy and childbirth wherein Somali women may feel 35 compelled to refuse necessary obstetrical care. Bridging gaps between Somali women and their providers 36 is key to advancing health equity for this vulnerable population.

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Section: Ethical Statementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Avoiding obstetrical interventions among US-based Somali migrant women: a qualitative study

et al. 2019

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“…The practice of FGM involves a whole community, making it a social norm that everyone is expected to comply with [1]. In some FGM-practicing communities, FGM is a celebratory rite of passage which reinforces cultural and ethnic identity and a sense of belonging in the community [1,9]. Individuals and families believe their communities expect them to do it in order to ensure an honorable and worthy womanhood for their daughters [1].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“When my mother called me to say that the time of cutting had arrived, I just escaped to Belgium with my daughter”: identifying turning points in the change of attitudes towards the practice of female genital mutilation among migrant women in Belgium

2020

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Background: Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a public health concern with negative consequences on women's health. It is a harmful practice which is recognized in international discourses on public health as a form of genderbased violence. Women are not only victims of this, but also perpetrators. The practice of FGM remains a social norm which is difficult to change because it is deeply rooted in tradition and is embedded in the patriarchal system. However, some women have managed to change their attitudes towards it and have spoken out against it. This study identifies and describes turning points that have been defined as significant and critical events in the lives of the women, and that have engendered changes in their attitudes towards the practice of FGM. Methods: We have conducted an inductive qualitative study based on the life story approach, where we interviewed 15 women who have undergone FGM. During the interviews, we discussed and identified the turning points that gave the research participants the courage to change their position regarding FGM. The analysis drew on lifeline constructions and thematic analysis. Results: Six common turning points relating to a change in attitude towards FGM were identified: turning points related to (i) encounters with health professionals, (ii) education, (iii) social interactions with other cultures and their own culture, (iv) experiences of motherhood, (v) repeated pain during sexual or reproductive activity, and (vi) witnessing the effects of some harmful consequences of FGM on loved ones.

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“…The practice of FGM involves a whole community, making it a social norm everyone is expected to comply with [1]. In some FGM-practicing communities, FGM is a celebratory rite of passage which reinforces cultural and ethnic identity and a sense of belonging in the community [1,9]. Individuals and families believe their communities expect them to do it in order to ensure an honorable and worthy womanhood for their daughters [1].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“When my mother called to say that the time of cutting had arrived, I escaped to Belgium with my daughter”: Identifying turning points in the change of attitudes towards the practice of Female Genital Mutilation among migrant women in Belgium

Agboli

Richard

Aujoulat

2020

Preprint

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Background Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) remains a public health concern with negative consequences on women’s health. It is a harmful practice and recognized in international discourses on public health as a form of gender-based violence of which women are not only victims, but also perpetrators. Although the practice of FGM remains a social norm which is difficult to change because of its deep roots in tradition and how it is embedded in the patriarchal system, some women have changed their attitudes towards it and speak out against it. This study identifies and describes turning points (TP) defined as significant events in the lives of the women, that create changes towards the practice of FGM.Methods We conducted an inductive qualitative study based on the life story approach where we interviewed 15 women with FGM. During the interviews the turning points that gave them the courage to change were identified together with the research participants. The analysis drew on lifeline reconstructions and thematic analysis.Results Six common turning points relating to a change in attitude towards FGM were identified: TPs related to encounters with health professionals, education, social interactions with other cultures and their own culture, experiences of motherhood, repeated pain during sexual or reproductive activity and to the fact witnessing some harmful consequences of FGM towards loved ones.Conclusion The turning points identified challenged the understanding of what it means to be a ‘member’ of the community in a patriarchal system, a ‘normal woman’ according to the community and what it means to be a good mother. In addition, the TPs found were expressed together with some issues related to emotional responses and coming to terms with conflict of loyalty, which we see as possible mechanisms to explain the change experienced by the women in our sample.

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Female Genital Cutting: Confronting Cultural Challenges and Health Complications Across the Lifespan

Cited by 18 publications

References 61 publications

Avoiding obstetrical interventions among US-based Somali migrant women: a qualitative study

Avoiding obstetrical interventions among US-based Somali migrant women: a qualitative study

“When my mother called me to say that the time of cutting had arrived, I just escaped to Belgium with my daughter”: identifying turning points in the change of attitudes towards the practice of female genital mutilation among migrant women in Belgium

“When my mother called to say that the time of cutting had arrived, I escaped to Belgium with my daughter”: Identifying turning points in the change of attitudes towards the practice of Female Genital Mutilation among migrant women in Belgium

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