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Empirical linkages between female genital mutilation and multiple sexual partnership: evidence from the 2018 Mali and 2013 Sierra Leone Demographic and Health Surveys

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 March 2021

Bright Opoku Ahinkorah ,
John Elvis Hagan Jr ,
Abdul-Aziz Seidu Open the ORCID record for Abdul-Aziz Seidu [Opens in a new window] ,
Eugene Budu ,
Ebenezer Kwesi Armah-Ansah ,
Collins Adu ,
Edward Kwabena Ameyaw  and
Sanni Yaya Open the ORCID record for Sanni Yaya [Opens in a new window]
Bright Opoku Ahinkorah
Affiliation:
School of Public Health, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Australia
John Elvis Hagan Jr
Affiliation:
Department of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana Neurocognition and Action-Biomechanics-Research Group, Faculty of Psychology and Sport Sciences, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
Abdul-Aziz Seidu
Affiliation:
Department of Population and Health, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Eugene Budu
Affiliation:
Department of Population and Health, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana
Ebenezer Kwesi Armah-Ansah
Affiliation:
Department of Population and Health, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana
Collins Adu
Affiliation:
Department of Health Promotion and Disability Studies, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
Edward Kwabena Ameyaw
Affiliation:
School of Public Health, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Australia
Sanni Yaya*
Affiliation:
School of International Development and Global Studies, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada The George Institute for Global Health, Imperial College London, London, UK
*
*Corresponding author. Email: sanni.yaya@uOttawa.ca
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Abstract

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is very pervasive in Africa, with significant regional variations in the prevalence of this traditional practice. This study examined the linkages between FGM and multiple sexual partnership in Mali and Sierra Leone – two African countries with a high prevalence of FGM. Data were from the 2018 Mali and 2013 Sierra Leone Demographic and Health Surveys, and the study sample comprised 4750 women from Mali and 16,614 from Sierra Leone. Multilevel logistic regression was used for the data analysis, with reported adjusted odds ratios (aOR) and associated 95% confidence intervals. In Mali, women who had not undergone FGM were less likely to have multiple sexual partners (aOR=0.60, CI=0.38–0.96) compared with those who had undergone FGM. In Sierra Leone, women who had undergone FGM (aOR=1.15, CI=1.02–1.30) were more likely to have multiple sexual partners compared with those who had not undergone FGM. Age, level of education, wealth quintile, sex of household head, community socioeconomic status, mass media exposure, and community literacy level were found to be associated with the likelihood of multiple sexual partnership among women in Mali and Sierra Leone. Comprehensive, age-group-based risk-reduction strategies, such as abstinence education and decision-making skills (assertiveness) training, are needed to reduce girls’ and young women’s engagement in multiple sexual partnerships. Policy interventions, such as anti-FGM legislation and initiatives like the ‘Schooling for the Female Child’ initiative aimed at reducing social inequality among girls and women, might help decrease FGM and the likelihood of health-compromising behaviours like multiple sexual partnership.

Keywords

Female genital mutilationMultiple sexual partnershipGlobal health
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 54 , Issue 3 , May 2022 , pp. 355 - 370
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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