Female genital mutilation and sexual behaviour by marital status among a nationally representative sample of Nigerian women.
Female genital mutilation
Nigeria
Sexual and reproductive health
Sexual behaviour
Journal
Reproductive health
ISSN: 1742-4755
Titre abrégé: Reprod Health
Pays: England
ID NLM: 101224380
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
07 Apr 2022
07 Apr 2022
Historique:
received:
22
11
2021
accepted:
07
03
2022
entrez:
8
4
2022
pubmed:
9
4
2022
medline:
12
4
2022
Statut:
epublish
Résumé
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is believed to have a negative effect on sexual and reproductive health but the evidence from nationally representative sample in high-burdened countries like Nigeria is scarce. This study explored the association between FGM and sexual behaviour in a nationally representative sample of Nigerian women. A secondary data analysis was conducted using the Nigeria Demographic Health Survey conducted in 2013 and 2018 among women aged 15-49 years. The descriptive summaries of respondent characteristics by marital status were presented using frequencies and percentages. The proportion and 95% Confidence Interval (CI) of circumcision by sexual behaviour characteristics were computed. A multivariable log-binomial logistic regression was used to determine the association between sexual behaviour and female circumcision while adjusting for other covariates. All analyses were performed using Stata 15.1 (StataCorp, College Station, TX, USA) at the 0.05 level of significance. The proportion of circumcised women was 38.6% among those who were ever-married and 32.4% among those unmarried. There were no statistically significant relationship between circumcision status and sexual behaviour among women who were unmarried. However, circumcised women who were ever married had 18% higher risk of having contracted sexually transmitted disease in the last 12 months preceeding the survey and 10% higher risk of engaging in pre-marital sex compared to ever married women who were uncircumcised after adjusting for other covariates. However, the risk of having multiple sexual partners in the last 12 month among uncircumcised ever married women was lower (aRR = 0.80; 95% CI: 0.66-0.97) in the adjusted model. Circumcision is not associated with positive sexual behavioural outcomes including delay in sexual debut, virginity and marital fidelity, although there exists some perception behind increasing FGM in Nigeria including prevention of premarital sex and ensuring marital fidelity. While we strongly discourage FGM in all its form, we assert the need for alternative health promoting community measures to address these inherent sexual perceptions toward eliminating FGM and improving sexual and reproductive health across population groups.
Sections du résumé
BACKGROUND
BACKGROUND
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is believed to have a negative effect on sexual and reproductive health but the evidence from nationally representative sample in high-burdened countries like Nigeria is scarce. This study explored the association between FGM and sexual behaviour in a nationally representative sample of Nigerian women.
METHODS
METHODS
A secondary data analysis was conducted using the Nigeria Demographic Health Survey conducted in 2013 and 2018 among women aged 15-49 years. The descriptive summaries of respondent characteristics by marital status were presented using frequencies and percentages. The proportion and 95% Confidence Interval (CI) of circumcision by sexual behaviour characteristics were computed. A multivariable log-binomial logistic regression was used to determine the association between sexual behaviour and female circumcision while adjusting for other covariates. All analyses were performed using Stata 15.1 (StataCorp, College Station, TX, USA) at the 0.05 level of significance.
RESULTS
RESULTS
The proportion of circumcised women was 38.6% among those who were ever-married and 32.4% among those unmarried. There were no statistically significant relationship between circumcision status and sexual behaviour among women who were unmarried. However, circumcised women who were ever married had 18% higher risk of having contracted sexually transmitted disease in the last 12 months preceeding the survey and 10% higher risk of engaging in pre-marital sex compared to ever married women who were uncircumcised after adjusting for other covariates. However, the risk of having multiple sexual partners in the last 12 month among uncircumcised ever married women was lower (aRR = 0.80; 95% CI: 0.66-0.97) in the adjusted model.
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSIONS
Circumcision is not associated with positive sexual behavioural outcomes including delay in sexual debut, virginity and marital fidelity, although there exists some perception behind increasing FGM in Nigeria including prevention of premarital sex and ensuring marital fidelity. While we strongly discourage FGM in all its form, we assert the need for alternative health promoting community measures to address these inherent sexual perceptions toward eliminating FGM and improving sexual and reproductive health across population groups.
Identifiants
pubmed: 35392944
doi: 10.1186/s12978-022-01379-w
pii: 10.1186/s12978-022-01379-w
pmc: PMC8991499
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
91Informations de copyright
© 2022. The Author(s).
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