The prevention of female genital mutilation in England: what can be done?
The prevention of female genital mutilation in England: what can be done?
Background: female genital mutilation (FGM) is a global public health issue. Women in the UK are at risk of FGM and its adverse health consequences but little is known about its practice. Since 1985 it has been a criminal offence to perform FGM in the UK and further legislation has tightened the law but FGM continues.
Methods: four community researchers from the Kenyan, Nigerian, Somalian and Sudanese communities in Oxford conducted focus groups and interviews with 53 people to understand the communities' beliefs about how best to prevent FGM.
Results: participants believed that the current UK legislation alone was not sufficient to tackle FGM and might in fact be counterproductive by alienating communities through its perceived imposition. They felt that there had been insufficient consultation with affected communities, awareness raising and education about the legislation. Community-led solutions were the most effective way to tackle FGM.
Conclusions: FGM adversely affects communities globally. In the UK, researchers from affected communities gathered data demonstrating the feasibility and importance of involving communities in FGM prevention work. Further research is needed to understand how best to prevent FGM in affected communities and, very importantly, to examine the impact of the UK legislation relating to FGM.
Adolescent, Adult, Africa, Eastern/ethnology, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Circumcision, Female/legislation & jurisprudence, Community Participation, England, Female, Focus Groups, Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice, Humans, Middle Aged, Social Problems/psychology, Sudan, Women's Health, Young Adult
e261-e266
Plugge, E.
b64d2086-6cf2-4fae-98bf-6aafa3115b35
Adam, S.
159a3f13-36f6-4b7c-979b-b8b4684d96a2
El Hindi, L.
5e4b7c6c-6d8d-48cd-acec-6e03459e501a
Gitau, J.
dbc13d83-e19f-4c93-9b51-96db27b56036
Shodunke, N.
57a862ff-da4c-4083-bee2-7054bd09d8fa
Mohamed-Ahmed, O.
ddcef0e7-d04e-4a27-b95c-ee9d5c81a6df
September 2019
Plugge, E.
b64d2086-6cf2-4fae-98bf-6aafa3115b35
Adam, S.
159a3f13-36f6-4b7c-979b-b8b4684d96a2
El Hindi, L.
5e4b7c6c-6d8d-48cd-acec-6e03459e501a
Gitau, J.
dbc13d83-e19f-4c93-9b51-96db27b56036
Shodunke, N.
57a862ff-da4c-4083-bee2-7054bd09d8fa
Mohamed-Ahmed, O.
ddcef0e7-d04e-4a27-b95c-ee9d5c81a6df
Plugge, E., Adam, S., El Hindi, L., Gitau, J., Shodunke, N. and Mohamed-Ahmed, O.
(2019)
The prevention of female genital mutilation in England: what can be done?
Journal of Public Health, 41 (3), .
(doi:10.1093/pubmed/fdy128).
Abstract
Background: female genital mutilation (FGM) is a global public health issue. Women in the UK are at risk of FGM and its adverse health consequences but little is known about its practice. Since 1985 it has been a criminal offence to perform FGM in the UK and further legislation has tightened the law but FGM continues.
Methods: four community researchers from the Kenyan, Nigerian, Somalian and Sudanese communities in Oxford conducted focus groups and interviews with 53 people to understand the communities' beliefs about how best to prevent FGM.
Results: participants believed that the current UK legislation alone was not sufficient to tackle FGM and might in fact be counterproductive by alienating communities through its perceived imposition. They felt that there had been insufficient consultation with affected communities, awareness raising and education about the legislation. Community-led solutions were the most effective way to tackle FGM.
Conclusions: FGM adversely affects communities globally. In the UK, researchers from affected communities gathered data demonstrating the feasibility and importance of involving communities in FGM prevention work. Further research is needed to understand how best to prevent FGM in affected communities and, very importantly, to examine the impact of the UK legislation relating to FGM.
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e-pub ahead of print date: 27 July 2018
Published date: September 2019
Keywords:
Adolescent, Adult, Africa, Eastern/ethnology, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Circumcision, Female/legislation & jurisprudence, Community Participation, England, Female, Focus Groups, Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice, Humans, Middle Aged, Social Problems/psychology, Sudan, Women's Health, Young Adult
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 485234
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/485234
ISSN: 1741-3842
PURE UUID: eccf58c5-6221-4634-9890-b0e6b6c17e64
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Date deposited: 01 Dec 2023 17:45
Last modified: 18 Mar 2024 03:57
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Contributors
Author:
S. Adam
Author:
L. El Hindi
Author:
J. Gitau
Author:
N. Shodunke
Author:
O. Mohamed-Ahmed
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