The Perception of African Immigrant Women Living in Spain Regarding the Persistence of FGM.

Ousmane Berthe-Kone,Jessica García-González,María Del Mar Jiménez-Lasserrotte,Cayetano Fernández-Sola,José Granero-Molina,María Isabel Ventura-Miranda,Sara María López-Saro

doi:10.3390/ijerph182413341

Abstract

Approximately 200 million women and girls have undergone female genital mutilation (FGM) worldwide. Migration has spread the practice of FGM around the world, thus making it a global public health issue. The objective of this descriptive qualitative study was to explore the perceptions of Sub-Saharan immigrant women in Spain in relation to the causes of the persistence of FGM. In-depth interviews were carried out with 13 female FGM survivors of African origin, followed by inductive data analysis using ATLAS.ti software. Two main themes emerged from the analysis: (1) A family ritual symbolic of purification and (2) a system of false beliefs and deception in favour of FGM. The FGM survivors living in Europe are aware that FGM is a practice that violates human rights yet persists due to a system of false beliefs rooted in family traditions and deception that hides the reality of FGM from young girls or forces them to undergo the practice. The ritualistic nature of FGM and the threat of social exclusion faced by women who have not had it performed on them contributes to its persistence nowadays.

Highlights

200 million women and girls have undergone female genital mutilation (FGM) worldwide and every year, and three million girls are at risk of having this practice performed on them [1–3]
We adhered to the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ), a comprehensive checklist that includes all of the standard criteria for correctly reporting a qualitative study
The objective of this study was to explore the perceptions of Sub-Saharan immigrant women living in Spain in relation to the causes of the persistence of FGM

Summary

Introduction

200 million women and girls have undergone female genital mutilation (FGM) worldwide and every year, and three million girls are at risk of having this practice performed on them [1–3]. FGM is an ancestral practice supported by a complex symbolic system [4,5] that persists in more than 30 countries, being most prevalent in Sub-Saharan. According to the European Parliament [6], there are approximately 500,000 women and children in Europe who have undergone FGM and another 180,000 at risk, these figures may be underestimated, as they do not include undocumented immigrants [7]. In Spain, it is estimated that between 9–15% of girls between the age of 0–18 are at risk of FGM [8]. FGM refers to all procedures that involve the partial or total removal of external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons [9]

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion