Family, Life Course, and Society Commons^™

Health Care Providers' And Mothers' Perceptions About The Medicalization Of Female Genital Mutilation Or Cutting In Egypt: A Cross-Sectional Qualitative Study [Arabic], Omaima El-Gibaly, Mirette Aziz

Reproductive Health

The medicalization of FGM/C has been increasing significantly in Egypt making it the country with the highest rate of medicalization. In this qualitative study, we explore the drivers and motives behind why health-care professionals perform FGM/C and why mothers rely on them to perform the practice on their daughters.

No To Circumcision’: The Road To Effective Social Marketing Campaigns In Egypt [Arabic], Salma Abou Hussein, Sarah Ghattass

Reproductive Health

This study sought to understand how, where, and why social marketing campaigns (SMCs) supporting abandonment of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) are working, and with what impact, to inform design and scale-up of campaigns that can foster new perspectives, expectations, and behaviors.

A Diagnostic Assessment Of The Health System's Response To Fgm/C Management And Prevention In Nigeria—Brief, Osasuyi Dirisu, Adetayo Adetunji, Mayokun Adediran, Otibho Obianwu

Reproductive Health

Globally, over 200 million women have been cut and are living with FGM/C-related consequences. In Africa, an estimated 27 million, 24 million, and 20 million girls/women have undergone FGM/C in Egypt, Ethiopia, and Nigeria respectively, the countries with the highest prevalence of FGM/C on the continent. In Nigeria, although the practice is considered widespread, national surveys suggest a gradual decline of FGM/C prevalence among women aged 15–49 years from 30 percent in 2008 to 20 percent in 2018. While these statistics suggest progress, the prevalence is still as high as 67 percent in some states. Nigeria’s National Strategic Health Development …

A Diagnostic Assessment Of The Health System's Response To Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting Management And Prevention In Kenya: A Case Study Of West Pokot County, Samuel Kimani

Reproductive Health

Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C), a pervasive cultural practice in some contexts, is associated with negative impacts on women’s and girls’ health and rights. The health sector is well positioned to respond to the prevention of FGM/C and the management of its complications because of its primary role in disease prevention, health promotion, and curative services. In Kenya, the health sector’s role is anchored in national and county legal and policy instruments and guidelines that are adopted or customized from global or regional frameworks as well as skills support tools approved by the World Health Organization. This brief highlights findings from …

Improving The Documentation Of Female Genital Mutilation Or Cutting (Fgm/C) Abandonment Interventions And Their Evaluations, Caroline W. Kabiru

Reproductive Health

Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) is internationally recognized as a violation of human rights. Consequently, there have been extensive efforts to promote the abandonment of the practice. There is limited evidence on the impact of many of the efforts, in part because many interventions are implemented by small organizations with inadequate resources to document and evaluate their activities. The complex nature of FGM/C interventions, as with other interventions aimed at addressing violence against women and girls, also makes it difficult to adequately document what is done, how, when, and with what results. Nonetheless, it is important that implementing organizations make every …

The Persistent Southern Disadvantage In Us Early Life Mortality, 1965‒2014, Nathan T. Dollar, Iliya Gutin, Elizabeth M. Lawrence, David B. Braudt, Samuel H. Fishman, Richard G. Rogers, Robert A. Hummer

Sociology Faculty Research

Background: Recent studies of US adult mortality demonstrate a growing disadvantage among southern states. Few studies have examined long-term trends and geographic patterns in US early life (ages 1 to 24) mortality, ages at which key risk factors and causes of death are quite different than among adults. Objective: This article examines trends and variations in early life mortality rates across US states and census divisions. We assess whether those variations have changed over a 50-year time period and which causes of death contribute to contemporary geographic disparities. Methods: We calculate all-cause and cause-specific death rates using death certificate data …

Introduction Of Dmpa-Sc Self-Injection In Ghana: A Feasibility And Acceptability Study Using Sayana® Press, Dela Nai, Patrick Aboagye, Kamil Fuseini, Elizabeth Tobey, Aparna Jain, Nora Maresh, Rebecca Fertziger

Reproductive Health

This research report describes results from an implementation science study that explored the feasibility and acceptability of administering depot medroxyprogesterone acetate-subcutaneous (DMPA-SC) among health-care providers and family planning (FP) clients in Ghana. DMPA-SC is an injectable contraceptive method that can be self-administered. The study, conducted by the Population Council through the USAID-funded Evidence Project in collaboration with the Ghana Health Service, was implemented in rural, peri-urban, and urban areas of the Ashanti and Volta regions. A total of 150 health-care providers were trained to administer DMPA-SC and to train clients on self-injection. Clients assessed as being competent self-injected under the …

Reflections From Five Years Of Research On Fgm/C, Lori S. Ashford, Reshma Naik, Charlotte Greenbaum

Reproductive Health

From 2015 to 2019, the Evidence to End FGM/C research consortium took a fresh approach to examining the longstanding practice of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C). The African-led program developed innovative research methods and uncovered new evidence about the practice and how it is changing—focusing on families and communities, and health and legal systems. This report documents the consortium’s research methods, the key lessons learned, capacity strengthening efforts, enhanced advocacy for research uptake, and recommendations. The research sheds light on key areas for future investments that would ensure that FGM/C policies and programs are informed by rigorous evidence. The recommendations stem …

Understanding Local Variation In How Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting Declines, Changes, Or Persists: Analysis Of Household Survey Data For Kenya, Nigeria, And Senegal, Population Reference Bureau

Reproductive Health

Efforts to eliminate female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) intensified in many parts of Africa following a 2012 United Nations General Assembly Resolution, but change has been uneven. Important evidence gaps remain in our understanding of why the practice declines, changes, or persists in specific locations. Policymakers and program planners need such information to better tailor interventions to address local patterns and focus resources on abandonment efforts in areas with the greatest needs. To fill these gaps, researchers with the Evidence to End FGM/C consortium analyzed nationally representative household survey data for Kenya, Nigeria, and Senegal. The results of their research identify …

Do Families That Tailgate Together Stay Together?, Meredith David, Luke C. Lorick

Atlantic Marketing Association Proceedings

No abstract provided.

Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting In Nigeria: Is The Practice Declining? A Descriptive Analysis Of Successive Demographic And Health Surveys And Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (2003–2017), Ngianga-Bakwin Kandala, Glory Atilola, Chibuzor Christopher Nnanatu, Emmanuel Ogundimu, Lubanzadio Mavatikua, Paul Komba, Zhuzhi Moore, Dennis Matanda

Reproductive Health

This report gives insight into the scale and scope of the practice of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) among women aged 15–49 years and girls younger than 15 years in Nigeria. It also presents evidence on where FGM/C occurs and highlights the dynamics of change as well as the context surrounding the practice. The report explores in detail the practice of FGM/C from all available sources of nationally representative survey data from 2003 to 2017 and the most relevant contextual information on key factors associated over time with FGM/C. The ultimate objective of the report is to generate evidence to inform …

Tracing Change In Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting Through Social Networks: An Intersectional Analysis Of The Influence Of Gender, Generation, Status, And Structural Inequality, Amadou Moreau, Bettina Shell-Duncan

Reproductive Health

Policies and programs designed to eliminate female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) in Senegal have been implemented over several decades, but the practice has been surprisingly tenacious. Strategies for accelerating abandonment have been informed by theories of change, and social norms theory, in particular, has become a prominent framework for understanding behavior change dynamics. FGM/C is held in place by interdependent normative expectations: what one family chooses to do is linked to expectations of others and reinforced through social sanctions. Hence, a key strategy for promoting behavior change rests on coordinating change in norms and behavior among people who interact with one …

Exploring The Nature And Extent Of Normative Change In Fgm/C In Somaliland, Richard A. Powell, Mohamed Yussuf, Bettina Shell-Duncan, Caroline W. Kabiru

Reproductive Health

More than 200 million girls and women alive today have undergone FGM/C across 30 countries in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. While most affected countries have adopted legal frameworks prohibiting FGM/C, these have been varyingly effective in preventing the practice or significantly accelerating its abandonment. The success of programmatic interventions to address FGM/C has also been variable. One possible reason for the limited success of these initiatives is the neglect of the collectively held social norms underpinning the practice’s continuation. This study, conducted in 30 villages in Somaliland, aimed to investigate: 1) if the norms associated with FGM/C are …

Parents As Pimps: Survivor Accounts Of Trafficking Of Children In The United States, Jody Raphael

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

This article discusses four survivor accounts of survivors of being sold for sexual exploitation by their parents for monetary gain. These narratives, supplemented by other accounts from 100 newspaper stories between 2012 and 2018, reveal the fact that many survivors were sold as very young children, and the abuse continued through their teen years, blurring distinctions between pedophilia and the sex trade industry. In their accounts, survivors described the motivations of their parents as well as the buyers, who used excessive force and violence. Some researchers are beginning to document the existence of parental pimping and its prevalence, which ranges …

Familismo, Fafsa, And Sallie Mae: A Study Of Second Generation Latinx Student Loan Debt, Jasmine Gonsalez

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

As college expenses continue to skyrocket, borrowing thousands of dollars to pay for college has become a rite of passage towards achieving the American Dream. Very little has explored the problem of rising student loan debt thorough a sociologically-oriented lens, and even less work has examined the variations in the lived experiences of underrepresented student borrowers. This study focuses on second-generation Latinx students who have used student loans to pay for college. As American citizens with Latin American roots, this generation lives in a precarious situation, often straddling the lines between their traditional family-oriented values, and the more individualistic values …

Associations Between Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting And Early/Child Marriage: A Multi-Country Dhs/Mics Analysis, Jamlick Karumbi, David Gathara

Reproductive Health

Over the last several decades, global efforts to end female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) have intensified through the combined efforts of international and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), governments, and religious and civil society groups. Evidence of the wider impacts of FGM/C and interventions for its abandonment is small but emerging. The practice of FGM/C has frequently been linked to a girl’s marriageability and is thought to be associated with child marriage, either directly, as a cause of early/child marriage, or vice versa, or indirectly, resulting from common causes. Evidence of the relationships between these two practices to inform programming and policy for …

Modelling And Mapping Of Regional Disparities Associated With Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting Prevalence Among Girls Aged 0–14 Years In Senegal: Evidence From Senegal (Sdhs) Surveys 2005–2017, Ngianga-Bakwin Kandala, Paul Komba, Chibuzor Christopher Nnanatu, Glory Atilola, Lubanzadio Mavatikua, Zhuzhi Moore, Dennis Matanda

Reproductive Health

Between 2005 and 2017, Senegal experienced a slight national decline in the prevalence of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) among women aged 15–49 years and girls younger than 15 years. However, significant differences in prevalence exist as a result of multifarious risk factors. Our previous research in Senegal described the national trends in FGM/C, showing where, when, and why FGM/C is practiced in Senegal. However, no recent study exists to analyze the geographical patterns of FGM/C and the effect of individual-and community-level risk factors on the likelihood of cutting among girls younger than 15 years. This working paper presents results from …

National Guard Familes: The Relationship Between Institutional Discourses And Lived Experiences, Kimberly Saunier Boudreaux

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

National Guard families live in two different worlds. On the one hand, they are civilians with civilian jobs. On the other hand, they are also part of the military that can be activated at any time. Living in these two worlds simultaneously affects these families differently than families who live either entirely in the civilian world or the military world. The purpose of this qualitative study was to take an ethnographic look at how National Guard families navigate and adapt to these conditions. This study utilized three methods of data collection: analysis of self-help books aimed at helping military spouses …

Modelling And Mapping Of State Disparities Associated With Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting Prevalence Among Girls Aged 0–14 Years In Nigeria: Evidence From Dhs And Mics 2003–2017, Ngianga-Bakwin Kandala, Paul Komba, Chibuzor Christopher Nnanatu, Glory Atilola, Lubanzadio Mavatikua, Zhuzhi Moore, Dennis Matanda

Reproductive Health

The practice of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) has been positioned as a gender and global development issue that national and international organizations must address for girls and women to thrive in good health and enjoy their fundamental rights. Consequently, many efforts have been made to promote the abandonment of the practice. Despite evidence of a decline in FGM/C, there are significant variations in its prevalence in many sub-Saharan African countries, where the practice persists due to the combined effects of factors among individuals as well as communities. This working paper presents findings from a study that analyzed existing data using …

Childhood Adversity, Mental Health, And The Perpetration Of Physical Violence In The Adult Intimate Relationships Of Women Prisoners: A Life Course Approach, Melissa S. Jones, Stephanie W. Burge, Susan F. Sharp, David A. Mcleod

Faculty Publications

Background: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are common, with nearly two-thirds of adult samples reporting exposure to at least one and one-quarter reporting exposure to three or more distinct types of ACEs. ACEs have been linked to various negative outcomes across the life course, including mental health problems, and the perpetration of physical violence in intimate relationships. However, little is known about the relationships between ACEs, PTSD symptomology, and use of physical violence against an adult intimate partner among incarcerated women.

Objective: The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships between ACEs, PTSD symptoms, and the perpetration of the …