Perceptions of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) among Asylum Seekers in New York City
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Perceptions of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) among Asylum Seekers in New York City Sarah Martell1 · Reagan Schoenholz2 · Victoria H. Chen1 · Irene Jun3 · Sonya Chemouni Bach4 · Veronica Ades5,6 Accepted: 1 October 2020 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) affects millions of girls and women globally each year despite widespread criminalization of the practice. Eradication efforts have focused on the health risks associated with FGM/C however, it is important to understand the sociocultural context in which this practice exists. We conducted a cross-sectional study using retrospective chart review and structured interviews with women recruited through the Bellevue/New York University Program for Survivors of Torture. Of the 43 participants enrolled in the study, 88.4% initially indicated there is no benefit of undergoing FGM/C but when prompted, agreed that social acceptance (16.3%), religious approval (11.6%), and better marriage prospects (9.3%) are possible benefits. More sexual pleasure for the women (46.5%), avoiding pain (30.2%), and fewer medical problems (16.3%) were stated as benefits of not undergoing FGM/C. Overall, 40 (93%) participants believed the practice should be discontinued. This study highlights that there may be a perception of social benefit of undergoing FGM/C. Although most participants believed the practice should be discontinued, the complex social milieu within which this practice exists must be addressed. Keywords Perceptions · Female genital mutilation/cutting · Asylum-seekers · Violence against women · Gender-based violence
Introduction Representative surveys estimate that at least 200 million women and girls globally have experienced some form of female genital cutting (FGM/C), and more than 3 million girls under the age of 18 are at risk of being subjected to * Sarah Martell [email protected] 1
New York University Grossman School of Medicine, 550 1st Ave, New York, NY 10016, USA
2
Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Mount Sinai Medical School, New York, NY, USA
3
Department of Applied Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
4
SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, Brooklyn, NY, USA
5
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
6
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Jacobi Medical Center, The Bronx, NY, USA
FGM/C annually [1, 2]. The practice is most common in a cluster of countries spanning across the African continent, from the North-Western coast to the Horn of Africa, with FGM/C prevalence as high as 98% among girls and women aged 15–49 in Somalia [1]. To a lesser extent, FGM/C is also present in countries in Asia, the Middle East, tribal populations in Australia and South America, and immigrant/ refugee populations in Europe and North America [1, 2]. FGM/C is associated with an array of both short-term and long-term medical complications. In the immedia
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