Faculty of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom.
Health Systems Strengthening, Foundation for Professional Development, Pretoria, South Africa.
PLoS One. 2024 Oct 31;19(10):e0304671. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0304671. eCollection 2024.
Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) and child marriage are prevalent in many countries in Asia and Africa. These practices are a violation of human rights and have significant impacts on the physical and mental well-being of those affected. COVID-19 restrictions such as lockdowns and closure of schools may have influenced the occurrence of FGM/C and child marriage. This analysis reported on the impact of these restrictions on FGM/C and child marriage. The International Sexual Health And REproductive Health (I-SHARE) research team organised a multi-country online survey. Sampling methods included convenience samples, online panels, and population-representative samples. Data collected included the impact of COVID-19 restrictions on the occurrence, intention to practice and change in plans to organise FGM/C and child marriage. Data were analysed from 14 countries that reported on FGM/C and child marriage using basic descriptive statistics. Given it was an online survey, we had more responses from urban areas. Among the 22,724 overall participants, 8,829 participants (38.9%) responded to the survey items on FGM/C and child marriage and were included in this analysis. 249 (3.4%) participants stated that FGM/C occurred in their community during COVID-19. Out of this, COVID-19 affected the plans of 26 (20%) participants intending to organise circumcision and 15% of participants planned to organise FGM/C earlier. People with a worry about finances during COVID-19 were more likely to have an earlier plan to organise FGM/C during COVID-19. In total, 1,429 (13%) participants reported that child marriage occurred in their community. The pandemic affected plans of 52 (13%) participants intending to arrange child marriage and 7.7% (29/384) participants expressed intent to arrange the marriage sooner than planned. People with financial insecurities during COVID-19 were more likely to arrange a child marriage earlier. Thus, our study found that the pandemic impacted plans related to FGM/C and child marriage practices, resulting in many carrying out the practices sooner or later than initially planned.
女性外阴残割/切割（FGM/C）和童婚在亚洲和非洲的许多国家很普遍。这些做法侵犯了人权，对受影响者的身心健康产生了重大影响。COVID-19 限制，如封锁和学校关闭，可能影响了 FGM/C 和童婚的发生。本分析报告了这些限制对 FGM/C 和童婚的影响。国际性健康和生殖健康（I-SHARE）研究小组组织了一项多国家在线调查。抽样方法包括便利样本、在线小组和代表性人口样本。收集的数据包括 COVID-19 限制对 FGM/C 和童婚发生、实施意图以及组织 FGM/C 和童婚计划变更的影响。报告了 FGM/C 和童婚的 14 个国家使用基本描述性统计数据进行了数据分析。由于这是一项在线调查，我们收到了更多来自城市地区的回复。在 22724 名总体参与者中，有 8829 名参与者（38.9%）对 FGM/C 和童婚调查项目做出了回应，并被纳入了本次分析。249 名（3.4%）参与者表示，他们所在社区在 COVID-19 期间发生了 FGM/C。其中，COVID-19 影响了 26 名（20%）计划组织割礼的参与者和 15%计划更早组织 FGM/C 的参与者的计划。在 COVID-19 期间，对财务状况感到担忧的人更有可能更早地计划组织 FGM/C。总共有 1429 名（13%）参与者报告说，他们所在社区发生了童婚。大流行影响了 52 名（13%）计划安排童婚的参与者的计划，7.7%（29/384）名参与者表示打算比计划更早安排婚姻。在 COVID-19 期间感到财务不安全的人更有可能更早地安排童婚。因此，我们的研究发现，大流行影响了与 FGM/C 和童婚做法相关的计划，导致许多人比最初计划更早或更晚地实施这些做法。
