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Analysis of the Determinants of Female Genital Mutilation Practices in Senegal: A Secondary Analysis of the 2018 DHS

Received: 30 April 2021    Accepted: 21 May 2021    Published: 31 May 2021
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Abstract

Introduction: Female genital mutilation (FGM), also known as female genital cutting or circumcision, threatens the health and well-being of millions of girls, women, and their children around the world. In Senegal, FGM practices persist despite numerous interventions. This study aims to analyze the determinants of FGM in Senegal. Methods: This article uses data from the 2018 Senegal Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), a nationally representative survey of 9413 women aged 15-49 years. In the descriptive analysis, variables were presented in terms of frequency and percentage of data. The significance level was set at 5, and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used. Variables with p values less than 0.25 in the bivariate analysis were selected for multivariate analysis. The dependent variable was a composite variable generated from 3 DHS variables that described the types of post-FGM genital lesions that exist in women. The analysis was performed using STATA/SE 17. Results: The prevalence of FGM is 17.14%. Eleven-point fifty-two percent (11.52%) or 999 women believe that FGM is a religiously recommended practice. Ninety-nine percent (993) of these women were Muslim (p=0.0017). Fifteen-point thirty-nine percent (15.39%) or 1,334 women think it is a practice that should continue to be practiced and 80.59% (or 6,988 women) think it should be stopped. The protective factors for the occurrence of FGM were female empowerment (high level of education of the woman (primary ajOR=0.64 [0.50-0.83] and secondary ajOR=0.43 [0.32, 0.57]) and the fact that the head of the family was a woman ajOR (0.75 [0.59-0.97]); belonging to the central region of Senegal (Diourbel, Kaolack, Thiès, Louga and Fatcick) and Christian religion (ajOr=0.05 [0.02-0.13]). The risk factors for female genital mutilation in Senegal were ethnicity and belonging to certain regions in the northeast and southeast of Senegal (Tambacounda, Matam, Kedougou). Conclusion: This study showed that FGM practices are still persistent in Senegal. This study underlined that the empowerment of women would allow the fight against FGM. Health interventions should be multisectoral, involving the education sectors with a strong investment in girls' education and retention.

Published in Central African Journal of Public Health (Volume 7, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.cajph.20210703.15
Page(s) 121-126
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Female Genital Cutting, Determinants, Senegal

References
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[5] Weltgesundheits organisation, éditeur. Eliminating female genital mutilation: an interagency statement; OHCHR, UNAIDS, UNDP, UNECA, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNHCR, UNIFEM, WHO. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2008. 40 p.
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[9] Croft, Trevor N., Aileen M. J. Marshall, Courtney K. Allen, et al. 2018. Guide to DHS Statistics. Rockville, Maryland, USA: ICF https://dhsprogram.com/data/Guide-to-DHS-Statistics/index.cfm.
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[12] Kandala N-B, Ezejimofor MC, Uthman OA, Komba P. Secular trends in the prevalence of female genital mutilation/cutting among girls: a systematic analysis. BMJ Global Health. 1 oct 2018; 3 (5): e000549.
[13] Satti A, Elmusharaf S, Bedri H, Idris T, Hashim MSK, Suliman GI, et al. Prevalence and determinants of the practice of genital mutilation of girls in Khartoum, Sudan. Annals of Tropical Paediatrics. 1 déc 2006; 26 (4): 303-10.
[14] Oduro AR, Ansah P, Hodgson A, Afful TM, Baiden F, Adongo P, et al. Trends in the prevalence of female genital muti-lation and its effect on delivery outcomes in the kassena-nankana district of northern Ghana. Ghana Medical Journal [Internet]. 2006 [cité 28 avr 2021]; 40 (3). Disponible sur: https://www.ajol.info/index.php/gmj/article/view/55258.
[15] Odukogbe A-TA, Afolabi BB, Bello OO, Adeyanju AS. Female genital mutilation/cutting in Africa. Transl Androl Urol. 2017; 6 (2): 138-48.
[16] Sénégal_-_2018_01.pdf [Internet]. [cité 28 avr 2021]. Disponible sur: https://www.rhsupplies.org/uploads/tx_rhscpublications/S%C3%A9n%C3%A9gal_-_2018_01.pdf.
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Ndeye Mareme Sougou, Jean Baptiste Niokhor Diouf, Oumar Bassoum, Ibrahima Seck. (2021). Analysis of the Determinants of Female Genital Mutilation Practices in Senegal: A Secondary Analysis of the 2018 DHS. Central African Journal of Public Health, 7(3), 121-126. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cajph.20210703.15

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    Ndeye Mareme Sougou; Jean Baptiste Niokhor Diouf; Oumar Bassoum; Ibrahima Seck. Analysis of the Determinants of Female Genital Mutilation Practices in Senegal: A Secondary Analysis of the 2018 DHS. Cent. Afr. J. Public Health 2021, 7(3), 121-126. doi: 10.11648/j.cajph.20210703.15

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    AMA Style

    Ndeye Mareme Sougou, Jean Baptiste Niokhor Diouf, Oumar Bassoum, Ibrahima Seck. Analysis of the Determinants of Female Genital Mutilation Practices in Senegal: A Secondary Analysis of the 2018 DHS. Cent Afr J Public Health. 2021;7(3):121-126. doi: 10.11648/j.cajph.20210703.15

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  • @article{10.11648/j.cajph.20210703.15,
      author = {Ndeye Mareme Sougou and Jean Baptiste Niokhor Diouf and Oumar Bassoum and Ibrahima Seck},
      title = {Analysis of the Determinants of Female Genital Mutilation Practices in Senegal: A Secondary Analysis of the 2018 DHS},
      journal = {Central African Journal of Public Health},
      volume = {7},
      number = {3},
      pages = {121-126},
      doi = {10.11648/j.cajph.20210703.15},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cajph.20210703.15},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.cajph.20210703.15},
      abstract = {Introduction: Female genital mutilation (FGM), also known as female genital cutting or circumcision, threatens the health and well-being of millions of girls, women, and their children around the world. In Senegal, FGM practices persist despite numerous interventions. This study aims to analyze the determinants of FGM in Senegal. Methods: This article uses data from the 2018 Senegal Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), a nationally representative survey of 9413 women aged 15-49 years. In the descriptive analysis, variables were presented in terms of frequency and percentage of data. The significance level was set at 5, and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used. Variables with p values less than 0.25 in the bivariate analysis were selected for multivariate analysis. The dependent variable was a composite variable generated from 3 DHS variables that described the types of post-FGM genital lesions that exist in women. The analysis was performed using STATA/SE 17. Results: The prevalence of FGM is 17.14%. Eleven-point fifty-two percent (11.52%) or 999 women believe that FGM is a religiously recommended practice. Ninety-nine percent (993) of these women were Muslim (p=0.0017). Fifteen-point thirty-nine percent (15.39%) or 1,334 women think it is a practice that should continue to be practiced and 80.59% (or 6,988 women) think it should be stopped. The protective factors for the occurrence of FGM were female empowerment (high level of education of the woman (primary ajOR=0.64 [0.50-0.83] and secondary ajOR=0.43 [0.32, 0.57]) and the fact that the head of the family was a woman ajOR (0.75 [0.59-0.97]); belonging to the central region of Senegal (Diourbel, Kaolack, Thiès, Louga and Fatcick) and Christian religion (ajOr=0.05 [0.02-0.13]). The risk factors for female genital mutilation in Senegal were ethnicity and belonging to certain regions in the northeast and southeast of Senegal (Tambacounda, Matam, Kedougou). Conclusion: This study showed that FGM practices are still persistent in Senegal. This study underlined that the empowerment of women would allow the fight against FGM. Health interventions should be multisectoral, involving the education sectors with a strong investment in girls' education and retention.},
     year = {2021}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Analysis of the Determinants of Female Genital Mutilation Practices in Senegal: A Secondary Analysis of the 2018 DHS
    AU  - Ndeye Mareme Sougou
    AU  - Jean Baptiste Niokhor Diouf
    AU  - Oumar Bassoum
    AU  - Ibrahima Seck
    Y1  - 2021/05/31
    PY  - 2021
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cajph.20210703.15
    DO  - 10.11648/j.cajph.20210703.15
    T2  - Central African Journal of Public Health
    JF  - Central African Journal of Public Health
    JO  - Central African Journal of Public Health
    SP  - 121
    EP  - 126
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2575-5781
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cajph.20210703.15
    AB  - Introduction: Female genital mutilation (FGM), also known as female genital cutting or circumcision, threatens the health and well-being of millions of girls, women, and their children around the world. In Senegal, FGM practices persist despite numerous interventions. This study aims to analyze the determinants of FGM in Senegal. Methods: This article uses data from the 2018 Senegal Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), a nationally representative survey of 9413 women aged 15-49 years. In the descriptive analysis, variables were presented in terms of frequency and percentage of data. The significance level was set at 5, and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used. Variables with p values less than 0.25 in the bivariate analysis were selected for multivariate analysis. The dependent variable was a composite variable generated from 3 DHS variables that described the types of post-FGM genital lesions that exist in women. The analysis was performed using STATA/SE 17. Results: The prevalence of FGM is 17.14%. Eleven-point fifty-two percent (11.52%) or 999 women believe that FGM is a religiously recommended practice. Ninety-nine percent (993) of these women were Muslim (p=0.0017). Fifteen-point thirty-nine percent (15.39%) or 1,334 women think it is a practice that should continue to be practiced and 80.59% (or 6,988 women) think it should be stopped. The protective factors for the occurrence of FGM were female empowerment (high level of education of the woman (primary ajOR=0.64 [0.50-0.83] and secondary ajOR=0.43 [0.32, 0.57]) and the fact that the head of the family was a woman ajOR (0.75 [0.59-0.97]); belonging to the central region of Senegal (Diourbel, Kaolack, Thiès, Louga and Fatcick) and Christian religion (ajOr=0.05 [0.02-0.13]). The risk factors for female genital mutilation in Senegal were ethnicity and belonging to certain regions in the northeast and southeast of Senegal (Tambacounda, Matam, Kedougou). Conclusion: This study showed that FGM practices are still persistent in Senegal. This study underlined that the empowerment of women would allow the fight against FGM. Health interventions should be multisectoral, involving the education sectors with a strong investment in girls' education and retention.
    VL  - 7
    IS  - 3
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Faculty Medicine, University Cheikh Anta Diop, Dakar, Senegal

  • Hospital Roi Baudoin, Faculty Medicine, University Iba Mar Diop, Dakar, Senegal

  • Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Faculty Medicine, University Cheikh Anta Diop, Dakar, Senegal

  • Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Faculty Medicine, University Cheikh Anta Diop, Dakar, Senegal

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