Male perspectives on FGM among communities of African heritage in Italy

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the attitudes, knowledge and beliefs regarding female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) of six groups of immigrant men from countries where FGM/C is practiced and to identify their role in the decision-making process of circumcising their daughters. Design/methodology/approach – The study took the form of qualitative action research with seven focus groups of 50 men coming from Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Benin, Egypt and Nigeria, living in Florence, Italy. Findings – Different conceptions, cultures and attitudes about FGM/C exist among men coming from different countries, but also within the same community. The participants expressed positions both in favor and against the maintenance of the practice. There were opposite beliefs about the religious motivations invoked. Research limitations/implications – The study is qualitative and the non-probability sample and the small number of participants are important limitations. Practical implications – The study improves current knowledge on men’s role and attitude in FGM/C and gives important information for the prevention of future activities that could include both men and women of the community. Social implications – The need to involve men in preventive actions against FGM/C has been underlined by the World Health Organization. The involvement of men and leaders of the communities could facilitate cultural changes toward the abandoning of these practices. FGM/C is often considered as a phenomenon concerning only women, who are frequently left alone to face the decision of whether to abandon the ritual. Originality/value – The great advantage of conducting such a study in a country of migration is the presence of different communities, with different cultural views, in the same area.

A qualitative study examining UK female genital mutilation health campaigns from the perspective of affected communities

“…15 Whilst not explicitly depicted on any of the campaign material posters or leaflets, the participants reported concern that FGM was seen as a practice related to Islam. Recent research has shown consistent confusion regarding whether FGM is dictated by Islam or not 7 and more work is needed to clarify this misperception. 3 Considering FGM is not a practice related to Islam, it is worth noting that religious leaders are often seen as 'guardians of the community' with the potential to reinforce campaign messages, an important aspect of creating successful campaigns.…”

“…Whilst it is often older women in the family deciding on whether girls should undergo FGM, 3 men's views are also important as they too can either prevent or support the practice. 7 Consequently, three groups from the community were recruited -mothers, fathers and young women. The aim was to also interview young men, but none volunteered, potentially believing the topic was not relevant to them, or viewing it as an embarrassing topic to discuss.…”

“…Both mothers and fathers were interviewed, with the latter group rarely included in these types of studies. 7 These strengths need to be considered with some limitations. Participants self-selected to be part of this study, aa larger sample size including participants from a wider range of affected communities would have further strengthened our findings.…”

Female genital mutilation: Nigerian Igbo men’s low acceptance of the practice

“…For instance, uneducated women (Novak 2016). Similarly, men from specific sociodemographic backgrounds have been found to be more likely to favour FGM, for example, older and uneducated men (Fahmy et al 2010;Kaplan et al 2013;NPC and ICF International 2014;Varol et al 2015;Catania et al 2016). Additionally, men in professional occupations, for example doctors and nurses, would prefer FGM to end (Ibrahim et al 2013), presumably because they have knowledge of its health consequences.…”

“…Studies have explored women's and children's knowledge and perceptions of the practice of FGM (Ahanonu and Victor 2014;Ajite et al 2016), and those of male adolescents in Nigeria (Adeniran et al 2015), however, only a few studies have explored the views of adult men about the tradition (Catania et al 2016). For example, Johnson-Agbakwu et al ( 2014) conducted a qualitative study among 40 Somali men and reported that all but one participant voiced their disagreement with FGM.…”