Community Education Matters: Representations of Female Genital Mutilation in Guineans Immigrant Women (2015)
This study is a Descriptive research regarding All FGM/C with the following characteristics:
Author(s): Wilson Abreu and Margarida Abreu
FGM/C Type(s): All
Health area of focus: None.
Objective: 1. To explore the experiences of Guineans immigrant women that lived in communities where the practice was performed,
2. To describe how,where,and who was usually involved,to identify the effects of the mutilation,and
3. To evaluate the effectiveness of the educational programs developed to eradicate the practice
Study Population: Immigrant women from Guinea Bissau living in the North of Portugal
Findings: Findings show that Type II was the most common form of mutilation. It was shaped by a complex interplay of cultural factors related to the initiation into womanhood,the status of woman and the need to be accepted by men. Study did not find a direct relation between religion and mutilation. Educational programs offered an alternative to the ritual (“symbolic fanado”). The educational programs were in general inclusive and culturally-sensitive. They contributed to the reduction of the prevalence of female mutilation,involving the community and respecting the local culture. Instead of imposition,the programs developed a cultural action for freedom. As a result,in these programs emergeed an alternative to the cutting,well accepted by the population.
Geographical coverage
Region(s):Southern Europe
Country(ies):Portugal