Female Genital Mutilation in a Young Refugee: A Case Report and Review

Abstract

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a widespread practice affecting up to 140 million girls and women worldwide (World Health Organization, 2008a). A substantial advocacy literature reports long-term psychological consequences of FGM, but there is little in the psychiatric literature to document this (Behrendt & Moritz, 2005). Within the broader psychiatric literature on refugee mental health, there are debates about the general validity of psychiatric diagnoses in refugee communities, including somatic disorders and posttraumatic stress disorder (Summerfield, 2008). We present the case of a young woman with a history of FGM, who was repeatedly hospitalized for gastrointestinal complaints of unclear etiology and discuss how her case illustrates the diagnostic and cultural complexity of the psychosocial consequences of FGM and political asylum-seeking.

Female genital cutting in the United States: Implications for mental health professionals.

“…To date, most of the current FGC literature focuses on the experiences of adult women (Akinsulure-Smith, 2014; Gele, Johansen, & Sundby, 2012; Kallon & Dundes, 2010). Even though the practice typically occurs in childhood, there is no research investigating the short- and long-term physical and psychological consequences of FGC on girls who undergo the procedures (Suardi, Mishkin, & Henderson, 2010). Explore the attitudes of men toward FGC (Bjälkander et al, 2012; Kallon & Dundes, 2010) and its impact on sexual and marital satisfaction.…”

The effects of migration on the practice and perception Female Genital Cutting (FGC) among the Horn of Africa’s immigrants in Melbourne Australia

“…The WHO classifies FGC into four major categories based on severity and degree of invasiveness [15] – [17] . Type I includes partial and total removal of the clitoris known as Clitoridectomy .…”

“…The practice of FGM has been well-documented to impact both short and long term health of women [17] , [18] . Short term health complications include; infections, hemorrhage, urinary pain, sepsis and increased risk to sexually transmitted infectious diseases during sexual intercourse and use of unsterilized traditional surgical instruments.…”

“…Short term health complications include; infections, hemorrhage, urinary pain, sepsis and increased risk to sexually transmitted infectious diseases during sexual intercourse and use of unsterilized traditional surgical instruments. The long term health implications of FGM include complications during birth such as high postpartum hemorrhage, increased risk of infant mortality, and increased length of maternal hospitalization [13] , [17] , [19] . Victims of FGC suffer from a long term permanent and irreversible tissue damage that have major negative implications on the health of girls throughout their life span [15] , [18] .…”

“…A recent study conducted in Australia reports that 59 children were identified by pediatricians, as having undergone FGC, and 89.7% of the children were refugees born in Africa [21] . Most of the current literature about FGC in the western world focuses on the psychosocial consequences of FGC and the general experiences of women who had FGC in their country of origin and now live in the west [17] , [22] – [24] . With the exception of [15] which heavily focused on a cross-sectional survey study about the perception of FGC among the Somalis in Norway, the existing literature on this subject mostly focuses on the health and human right implications of this culturally rooted practice.…”