Male perspectives on FGM among communities of African heritage in Italy (2016)
This study is a Exploratory research regarding All FGM/C with the following characteristics:
Author(s): Lucrezia Catania,Rosaria Mastrullo,Angela Caselli,Rosa Cecere,Omar Abdulcadir,Jasmine Abdulcadir
FGM/C Type(s): All
Health area of focus: None.
Objective: To investigate the attitudes,knowledge and beliefs regarding female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) of six groups of immigrant men from countries where FGM/C is practiced and to identify their role in the decision-making process of circumcising their daughters
Study Population: Men
Findings: Different conceptions,cultures and attitudes about FGM/C exist among men coming from different countries,but also within the same community. The participants expressed positions both in favor and against the maintenance of the practice. There were opposite beliefs about the religious motivations invoked. The control of women’s sexuality and Islam were the reasons given by most of the participants to explain the existence of the practice. In the groups from Benin,Egypt,Ethiopia,Eritrea and Nigeria,many men identified the practice as a method to alleviate women’s sexual desire and ensure premarital virginity and marital fidelity. The men from Somalia reported that the practice of infibulation is an essential prerequisite for marriage in their society because it is proof of virginity of the woman
Geographical coverage
Region(s):Southern Europe
Country(ies):Italy