Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, UK.
Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Oxford, UK.
J Public Health (Oxf). 2019 Sep 30;41(3):e261-e266. doi: 10.1093/pubmed/fdy128.
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a global public health issue. Women in the UK are at risk of FGM and its adverse health consequences but little is known about its practice. Since 1985 it has been a criminal offence to perform FGM in the UK and further legislation has tightened the law but FGM continues.
Four community researchers from the Kenyan, Nigerian, Somalian and Sudanese communities in Oxford conducted focus groups and interviews with 53 people to understand the communities' beliefs about how best to prevent FGM.
Participants believed that the current UK legislation alone was not sufficient to tackle FGM and might in fact be counterproductive by alienating communities through its perceived imposition. They felt that there had been insufficient consultation with affected communities, awareness raising and education about the legislation. Community-led solutions were the most effective way to tackle FGM.
FGM adversely affects communities globally. In the UK, researchers from affected communities gathered data demonstrating the feasibility and importance of involving communities in FGM prevention work. Further research is needed to understand how best to prevent FGM in affected communities and, very importantly, to examine the impact of the UK legislation relating to FGM.
女性生殖器切割（FGM）是一个全球性的公共卫生问题。英国的女性面临着 FGM 及其不良健康后果的风险，但人们对其做法知之甚少。自 1985 年以来，在英国实施 FGM 已构成刑事犯罪，而且进一步的立法已经收紧了法律，但 FGM 仍在继续。
来自牛津的肯尼亚、尼日利亚、索马里和苏丹社区的四名社区研究人员进行了焦点小组和访谈，共 53 人参与，以了解社区对如何最好地预防 FGM 的看法。
参与者认为，仅靠英国现行立法不足以解决 FGM 问题，实际上可能会通过其被视为强加的方式疏远社区，反而产生反效果。他们认为，在立法方面，与受影响社区的磋商、提高认识和教育还不够充分。社区主导的解决方案是解决 FGM 的最有效途径。
FGM 对全球社区产生不利影响。在英国，来自受影响社区的研究人员收集的数据表明，让社区参与 FGM 预防工作是可行且重要的。需要进一步研究如何在受影响社区中最好地预防 FGM，并且非常重要的是，要研究与英国 FGM 立法相关的影响。
