PREVALENCE ET FACTEURS ASSOCIES AUX MUTILATIONS GENITALES FEMININES CHEZ LES ADOLESCENTES DE 10 à 19 ANS DANS LES COMMUNES DE GUEDIAWAYE, KOLDA ET KAOLACK (SENEGAL) EN 2021

Abstract

introduction: Female genital mutilation is the partial or complete removal of a woman’s external genitalia without therapeutic indication. Nearly two million girls and women underwent female genital mutilation in Senegal in 2019. We thought it appropriate to study the factors associated with female genital mutilation among teenage girls.methodology :This research used a mixed method with a quantitative and a qualitative component. The quantitative component targeted adolescent girls aged 10 to 19 in the communes of Guédiawaye in the west of the country, Kaolack in the centre and Kolda in the south. It was a cross-sectional survey based on a stratified systematic random sample. Descriptive, bivariate with an alpha risk of 5% and multivariate analyses were performed. The qualitative component was based on a case study with a reasoned choice of targets of adolescent girls and their parents in application of the principle of diversification. results :The study included 940 teenage girls with an average age of 67 months. The majority lived in rural areas (70.2%) and belonged to the Al Poular ethnic group (38.7%). The proportion of participants who had been circumcised was 29.7%. The risk of circumcision was higher in male-headed households (ORa=1.61 [1.04- 2.50]), in rural areas (ORa=15.2 [8.69- 28.0]) of Al Poular origin (ORa=12.5 [8.33- 20.0]) and in households of wealth according to welfare quintile (ORa=8.41 [4.51-15.69]).Conclusion :The prevalence of female genital mutilation among adolescent girls in Senegal has been constant for over twenty years. Awareness-raising strategies targeting wealthy households in rural areas, headed by men and of Al Poular origin, will be necessary if social norms in favour of abandonment are to progress.