Harmful norms: Can social convention theory explain the persistence of female genital cutting in Africa! (2021)
This study is a Descriptive research regarding All FGM/C with the following characteristics:
Author(s): Congdon F.H,Saksson A.S and Lindskog A.
FGM/C Type(s): All
Health area of focus: None.
Objective: This paper investigates the explanatory power of social convention theory for explaining the persistence of female genital cutting (FGC) in a broad sample of African countries
Study Population: Demographic and Health Survey data from 34 surveys performed between 1992-2018
Findings: Empirical results drawing on Demographic and Health Survey data from 34 surveys performed between 1992-2018 in 11 African countries suggest that cutting behavior is indeed often socially interdependent,and hence that it can be understood as a social convention. The findings indicate that even if social convention theory does not provide the full picture,it should not be dismissed. Accordingly,interventions that acknowledge the social interdependence of cutting behavior are likely to be more successful than interventions that do not.
Geographical coverage
Region(s):Western Africa,Eastern Africa,Middle Africa,Northern Africa
Country(ies):Benin,Burkina Faso,Chad,Côte d’Ivoire,Egypt,Ethiopia,Guinea,Kenya,Mali,Mauritania,Nigeria,Senegal,Sierra Leone,Sudan,Tanzania