In Their Own Words: The Health and Sexuality of Immigrant Women with Infibulation Living in Switzerland

Michela Villani,Patrick Bodenmann,Judith Griffin

doi:10.3390/socsci5040071

Michela Villani, Patrick Bodenmann + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci5040071

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Journal: Social Sciences	Publication Date: Nov 2, 2016
Citations: 5	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: University of Fribourg

Abstract

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a significant public health problem. It is estimated that around 14,700 women affected by FGM live in Switzerland, primarily among women with a history of migration. Our qualitative research investigated the sexual health of immigrant women living with FGM in Switzerland, describing their own perception of health, reproductive life and sexuality. We conducted semi-structured, in-depth interviews with a group of eight immigrant women of sub-Saharan origin living in Switzerland with Type III FGM (infibulation). Seven of the women were from Somalia and one was from the Ivory Coast. All of the Somali women were mothers and married (two separated), and the Ivorian woman was a single mother. The women in our study reported a low level of sexual satisfaction and reproductive health. They affirmed their desire to improve, or at least change, their condition. Although they rarely talk with their husbands about sexual subject matter, they would like to include them more and improve dialogue. Specific socio-sexual management is recommended when caring for immigrant women living with FGM in order to respond to their specific health care needs. Multidisciplinary approaches may be able to offer more comprehensive health care, including facilitated communication to improve dialogue between women and health care professionals, and eventually between women and their husbands in discussing sexual subject matter.

Highlights

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a global public health concern and perceived as a form of violence against women and girls
Female genital mutilation is a traditional practice embedded in the education of the child [4] and in the intergenerational transmission of a gender model [5], which is based on a strict separation between sexes’ roles in the society [4]
We recruited women of sub-Saharan origin living in Switzerland, between 18 and 45 years old, with or without children, who had undergone a specific type of FGM visiting the Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics

Summary

Introduction

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a global public health concern and perceived as a form of violence against women and girls. The World Health Organization (WHO) defined FGM as procedures that “intentionally alter or cause injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons” [1]. FGM can involve cutting of the clitoris, labia minora and majora, and infibulation (narrowing of the vaginal orifice). Researchers have identified several short, middle and long-term health consequences of FGM for women and girls, such as pelvic infection, excessive bleeding, difficulty urinating, pain [2,3]. FGM is considered as an ethnic marker aim at preserving the ethnic identity of the group [6]

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