Sexual norms and the intention to use healthcare services related to female genital cutting: A qualitative study among Somali and Sudanese women in Norway

Autor: Inger-Lise Lien, R. Elise B. Johansen, Mai Mahgoub Ziyada
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2020
Předmět:
Sexual partner
European People
Health Knowledge
Attitudes
Practice
Physiology
Culture
Ethnic group
Social Sciences
Intention
Somali
Clitoris
Geographical Locations
Sudan
0302 clinical medicine
Sociology
Reproductive Physiology
Sex Counseling
Copulation
Medicine and Health Sciences
Ethnicities
Psychology
030212 general & internal medicine
Somalian People
030219 obstetrics & reproductive medicine
Multidisciplinary
Norway
Virginity test
Female Genital Mutilation
Emigration and Immigration
Health Services
Europe
Psychosexual development
Circumcision
Female
language
Medicine
Female
Anatomy
Social psychology
Genital Anatomy
Research Article
Adult
Norwegian People
Science
Sexual Behavior
Somalia
Sexual and Gender Issues
03 medical and health sciences
Interview
Psychological
Humans
African People
Behavior
Reproductive System
Biology and Life Sciences
Focus group
language.human_language
People and Places
Population Groupings
Qualitative research
Zdroj: PLoS ONE
PLoS ONE, Vol 15, Iss 5, p e0233440 (2020)
ISSN: 1932-6203
Popis: Background Female Genital Cutting (FGC) is a traditionally meaningful practice in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. It is associated with a high risk of long-term physical and psychosexual health problems. Girls and women with FGC-related health problems need specialized healthcare services such as psychosexual counseling, deinfibulation, and clitoral reconstruction. Moreover, the need for psychosexual counseling increases in countries of immigration where FGC is not accepted and possibly stigmatized. In these countries, the practice loses its cultural meaning and girls and women with FGC are more likely to report psychosexual problems. In Norway, a country of immigration, psychosexual counseling is lacking. To decide whether to provide this and/or other services, it is important to explore the intention of the target population to use FGC-related healthcare services. That is as deinfibulation, an already available service, is underutilized. In this article, we explore whether girls and women with FGC intend to use FGC-related healthcare services, regardless of their availability in Norway. Methods We conducted 61 in-depth interviews with 26 Somali and Sudanese participants with FGC in Norway. We then validated our findings in three focus group discussions with additional 17 participants. Findings We found that most of our participants were positive towards psychosexual counseling and would use it if available. We also identified four cultural scenarios with different sets of sexual norms that centered on getting and/or staying married, and which largely influenced the participants’ intention to use FGC-related services. These cultural scenarios are the virgin, the passive-, the conditioned active-, and the equal- sexual partner scenarios. Participants with negative attitudes towards the use of almost all of the FGC-related healthcare services were influenced by a set of norms pertaining to virginity and passive sexual behavior. In contrast, participants with positive attitudes towards the use of all of these same services were influenced by another set of norms pertaining to sexual and gender equality. On the other hand, participants with positive attitudes towards the use of services that can help to improve their marital sexual lives, yet negative towards the use of premarital services were influenced by a third set of norms that combined norms from the two aforementioned sets of norms. Conclusion The intention to use FGC-related healthcare services varies between and within the different ethnic groups. Moreover, the same girl or woman can have different attitudes towards the use of the different FGC-related healthcare services or even towards the same services at the different stages of her life. These insights could prove valuable for Norwegian and other policy-makers and healthcare professionals during the planning and/or delivery of FGC-related healthcare services.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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