Publication
Title
Mothers' perceptions of the medicalisation of female genital cutting among the Kisii population in Kenya
Author
Abstract
While within the Kisii community in Kenya the prevalence of female genital cutting (FGC) is decreasing, the practice is increasingly being performed by health professionals. This study aims to analyse these changes by identifying mothers' motives to opt for medicalised FGC, and how this choice possibly relates to other changes in the practice. We conducted face-to-face semi-structured in-depth interviews with mothers who had daughters around the age of cutting (8–14 years old) in Kisii county, Kenya. Transcripts of the interviews were coded and analysed thematically, applying researcher triangulation. According to mothers’ accounts, the main driver behind the choice to medicalise was the belief that medicalising FGC reduces health risks. There were suggestions that medicalised FGC may be becoming the new community norm or the only option. The shift to medicalisation was examined in relation to other changes in the practice of FGC signalling how medicalisation may provide a way to increase the practice's secrecy and decrease its visibility.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Culture, health and sexuality. - Abingdon
Publication
Abingdon : 2022
ISSN
1369-1058
DOI
10.1080/13691058.2021.1906952
Volume/pages
24 :7 (2022) , p. 983-997
ISI
000637238500001
Pubmed ID
33821778
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (open access)
Full text (publisher's version - intranet only)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Project info
Female Genital Cutting in a Comparative Perspective. An Examination of changes in prevalence, type and degree of medicalization of the practice in multiple African countries.
The impact of changing family dynamics on intergenerational solidarity
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 08.04.2021
Last edited 02.10.2024
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