In Their Own Words: The Health and Sexuality of Immigrant Women with Infibulation Living in Switzerland

Michela Villani, Judith Louise Griffin and Patrick Bodenmann
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Michela Villani: Department of Social Sciences, University of Fribourg, 1700 Fribourg, Switzerland
Judith Louise Griffin: Department of Ambulatory Care and Community Medicine, Vulnerable Populations Center, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland
Patrick Bodenmann: Department of Ambulatory Care and Community Medicine, Vulnerable Populations Center, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland

Social Sciences, 2016, vol. 5, issue 4, 1-12

Abstract: Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a significant public health problem. It is estimated that around 14,700 women affected by FGM live in Switzerland, primarily among women with a history of migration. Our qualitative research investigated the sexual health of immigrant women living with FGM in Switzerland, describing their own perception of health, reproductive life and sexuality. We conducted semi-structured, in-depth interviews with a group of eight immigrant women of sub-Saharan origin living in Switzerland with Type III FGM (infibulation). Seven of the women were from Somalia and one was from the Ivory Coast. All of the Somali women were mothers and married (two separated), and the Ivorian woman was a single mother. The women in our study reported a low level of sexual satisfaction and reproductive health. They affirmed their desire to improve, or at least change, their condition. Although they rarely talk with their husbands about sexual subject matter, they would like to include them more and improve dialogue. Specific socio-sexual management is recommended when caring for immigrant women living with FGM in order to respond to their specific health care needs. Multidisciplinary approaches may be able to offer more comprehensive health care, including facilitated communication to improve dialogue between women and health care professionals, and eventually between women and their husbands in discussing sexual subject matter.

Keywords: migration; female genital mutilation; sexual health; reproductive health; communication (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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