FGM/C decision-making process and the role of gender power relations in Sudan (2018)

This study is a Descriptive research regarding All FGM/C with the following characteristics: Author(s): Eldin,A. G.,Babiker,S.,Sabahelzain,M. & Eltayeb,M. FGM/C Type(s): All Health area of focus: None. Objective: This study aimed to contribute to a better understanding of FGM/C in Sudan and the way different families perceive the practice and make FGM/C-related decisions. Study Population: Household members (men and women) Findings: FGM/C is widely practised in the research sites. Just over half (52 percent) of those who decided to circumcise viewed it as a cultural practice. Awareness of the harms was linked to a shift from the ‘severe’ pharaonic to the ‘sunna’ cut. Families go through lengthy and complex deliberations involving nuclear and extended family members and other influencers. Key moments in the decision-making process are the time (and age) when the deliberation on FGM/C are initiated and the time of the year/season. Men hold contradictory positions on FGM/C – some are willing to marry an uncut girl but would prefer their sister to be cut. Maternal and paternal grandmothers are important actors in FGMC decision-making. In general,widespread support and practise of FGM is sustained by deeply rooted social norms and gender power structures. The study findings underscore the need for interventions that address gendered social norms that support the regulation of women’s sexuality and sexual behaviour. The belief that the “sunna” cut performed by trained medical staff addresses the harms arising from FGM/C may pose a huge challenge for abandonment efforts. Legal restrictions or shifts in the practice of female genital mutilation/circumcision (FGM/C) need to be studied to understand how laws can be strengthened to promote the abandonment of all forms of FGM. Further research is needed to understand men’s views on FGM/c and their role in shaping attitudes towards the practice. Geographical coverage Region(s):Northern Africa Country(ies):Sudan Source

September 8, 2023

Fighting to make the cut: Female genital cutting Studied within the context of cultural relativism (2007)

This study is a Exploratory research regarding All FGM/C with the following characteristics: Author(s): Rachelle Cassman FGM/C Type(s): All Health area of focus: None. Objective: To focus on a discussion of female genital cutting within the context of cultural relativism Study Population: Relied on articles Findings: The study concluded that regardless of how FGM/C conflicts with American sensibilities,international movement toward an elimination of its existence is unlikely without thorough regard and understanding for the cultural,religious,and ethnic rationales that perpetuate its practice. A fair solution is needed,not to impose Western values on Easterners,but rather to prevent health issues among practicing populations and to empower women who continue to be subordinated through this painful and injurious practice Geographical coverage Region(s):Not specified Country(ies):Not specified Source

Forced genital cutting in North America: Feminist theory and nursing considerations (2013)

This study is a Descriptive research regarding All FGM/C with the following characteristics: Author(s):  Antinuk,Kira FGM/C Type(s): All Health area of focus: None. Objective: To examine forced nontherapeutic genital cutting (FNGC) through the lens of feminist theory and in relation to the concept of social justice in nursing Study Population: not stated Findings: Using feminist theory,I have presented a social justice nursing perspective on FNGC. The underlying assumptions of feminism,which apply to male infant circumcision and intersex infant/child genital cutting,have been critiqued. I have compared the responsibility of feminists and nurses with regard to addressing the hegemony of circumcisionism. The need for nurses and feminists to act in consideration of their responsibility to uphold principles of justice for all has been discussed. Society has undergone changes as a result of updated medical guidance and human rights advocacy within the past 30 years,which have laid the groundwork for a challenge to circumcisionism. Although there have been few feminists or nurses who have worked toward an equal protection for all children from FNGC,the time for these groups to fulfill their social justice responsibilities in this area has arrived and cannot be ignored any longer. Geographical coverage Region(s):Not specified Country(ies):Not specified Source

Foreign bodies as a complication of female genital mutilation (2003)

This study is a Explanatory research regarding III FGM/C with the following characteristics: Author(s): Møller Birger R.,and Ulla D. Hansen FGM/C Type(s): III Health area of focus: Gynaecological. Objective: To report an unusual complication Study Population: A 29-year-old Somali woman living permanently in Denmark Findings: A cystic structure containing stones isolated from the area of the clitoris. The patient has suffered from these foreign bodies for almost 25 years. Geographical coverage Region(s):Northern Europe Country(ies):Denmark Source

From clitoridectomies to ‘designer vaginas’: The medical construction of heteronormative female bodies and sexuality through female genital cutting (2005)

This study is a Exploratory research regarding All FGM/C with the following characteristics: Author(s): Green Fiona J FGM/C Type(s): All Health area of focus: Sexual,Gynaecological.. Objective: To contribute to an ongoing critical discussion of sexuality and female genital cutting (FGC) offered by feminists,human rights activists,and academics Study Population: Not Stated Findings: The discussion revealed how various cultures and people including women themselves use FGC to influence and enforce Western medically constructed female embodiment(s) of heteronormative femininity and sexuality. Geographical coverage Region(s):Not specified Country(ies):Not specified Source

From health to human rights: female genital cutting and the politics of intervention (2008)

This study is a Exploratory research regarding All FGM/C with the following characteristics: Author(s): Shell-Duncan Bettina FGM/C Type(s): All Health area of focus: None. Objective: To answer the following questions regarding the prominent placement of FGC in the international human rights movement: What are the ramifications of framing FGC as a human rights violation? What actions are mandated by a human rights approach? What perils and pitfalls potentially arise from the adoption of a rights-based framework,and how might they be avoided? Study Population: Relied on articles Findings: In exploring these questions it becomes clear that,although a human rights approach was promising,careful deliberation was required to develop action strategies that offer both protection and respect for the culture and autonomy of those women and families concerned Geographical coverage Region(s):Not specified Country(ies):Not specified Source

Gender differences in support for the discontinuation of female genital cutting in Sierra Leone (2014)

This study is a Exploratory research regarding All FGM/C with the following characteristics: Author(s): Sagna ML FGM/C Type(s): All Health area of focus: None. Objective: To examine support for discontinuation of FGC and its associated predictors among both women and men in Sierra Leone Study Population: Findings: Findings reveal gender differences in attitudes toward the elimination of the practice across most of the socioeconomic predictors. Interestingly,beliefs about and perceived benefits of FGC emerge as important determinants of the support for the elimination of FGC,both genders considered. The findings highlight the importance of achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment,and the necessity for a more contextualised approach to FGC eradication. Geographical coverage Region(s):Western Africa Country(ies):Sierra Leone Source

Gender equality and human rights approaches to female genital mutilation: a review of international human rights norms and standards. (2017)

This study is a Systematic Review regarding All FGM/C with the following characteristics: Author(s): Khosla,R.,Banerjee,J.,Chou,D.,Say,L.,& Fried,S. T. FGM/C Type(s): All Health area of focus: None. Objective: To situate the practice of FGM as a rights violationin the context of international and national policy and efforts,and explore the role of health providers in upholdinghealth-related human rights of women at girls who are survivors,or who are at risk. Study Population: Relied on articles Findings: Given the indivisibility and interconnectednessof human rights,FGM may violate multiple humanrights Geographical coverage Region(s):Not specified Country(ies):Not specified Source

Gender Issues Affecting Girl Child Education in Northern Kenya (2015)

This study is a Descriptive research regarding All FGM/C with the following characteristics: Author(s): Adan Maalim Hussein FGM/C Type(s): All Health area of focus: None. Objective: The purpose of the study was to find out the impact of Female Genital Mutilation on education of girls Mandera County. Study Population: Girls Findings: The paper found out that Kenya girl child is adversely affected by gender issues ranging from female genital mutilation,early marriage of girl child dropout of school since most of parents prefer educating the boys child rather than the girls child when faced with financial constraints,sexual abuse and gender based labor division which affect the girls child school performance since the girls fail to competitively do their school given home work Geographical coverage Region(s):Eastern Africa Country(ies):Kenya Source

Gendered identity and anti-female genital cutting (FGC) activism among the Ejaghams,Cameroon (2010)

This study is a Descriptive research regarding All FGM/C with the following characteristics: Author(s): Ngambouk Vitalis FGM/C Type(s): All Health area of focus: None. Objective: To critically appraise the NGO activism against female genital cutting (FGC) practices among Ejagham communities in Southwest Cameroon Study Population: Men,Females,NGO activists,Traditional Practitioners (including Circumcisers),Modern Health Care Practitioners,Government Representatives Findings: The paper argued that by framing female circumcision as a ‘‘harmful traditional practice’’,local anti-female circumcision activists (NGOs and their external allies),using educational,health,legal awareness and human rights-based approaches,had produced mixed results,thereby re-inforcing resistance among cultural hardliners. Their demonization of culture and failure to address the local context of these practices tended rather,to reify and re-inscribe the practice as central to Ejagham cultural identity,personhood and femininity. The study concluded that a community-led,‘Positive Deviance Approach’ could be a way forward towards the eventual eradication of FGM/C Geographical coverage Region(s):Middle Africa Country(ies):Cameroon Source