Bjälkander Owolabi, Leigh Bailah, Harman Grace, Bergström Staffan, Almroth Lars
Division of Global Health, Department of Public Health, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
Afr J Reprod Health. 2012 Dec;16(4):119-31.
The objectives of this study were to identify decision makers for FGM and determine whether medicalization takes place in Sierra Leone. Structured interviews were conducted with 310 randomly selected girls between 10 and 20 years in Bombali and Port Loko Districts in Northern Sierra Leone. The average age of the girls in this sample was 14 years, 61% had undergone FGM at an average age of 7.7 years (range 1-18). Generally, decisions to perform FGM were made by women, but father was mentioned as the one who decided by 28% of the respondents. The traditional excisors (Soweis) performed 80% of all operations, health professionals 13%, and traditional birth attendants 6%. Men may play a more important role in the decision making process in relation to FGM than previously known. Authorities and health professionals' associations need to consider how to prevent further medicalization of the practice.
本研究的目的是确定女性生殖器切割的决策者，并确定在塞拉利昂是否存在将其医疗化的情况。在塞拉利昂北部邦巴利区和洛科港区，对310名年龄在10至20岁之间的女孩进行了随机抽样的结构化访谈。样本中女孩的平均年龄为14岁，61%的女孩在平均7.7岁（范围为1至18岁）时接受了女性生殖器切割。一般来说，实施女性生殖器切割的决定由女性做出，但28%的受访者提到是父亲做出的决定。所有手术中，80%由传统切割者（索韦斯）实施，13%由卫生专业人员实施，6%由传统助产士实施。在女性生殖器切割的决策过程中，男性可能比之前所知的发挥更重要的作用。当局和卫生专业人员协会需要考虑如何防止这种做法进一步医疗化。
