Document Type

Article

Comments

This article has been accepted for publication and undergone full peer review but has not been through the copyediting, typesetting, pagination and proofreading process, which may lead to differences between this version and the Version of Record. Please cite this article as doi:10.1111/tmi.13749

Abstract

Objectives

Female Genital Mutilation and Cutting (FGM/C) is an act of gender-based violence (GBV) and a global public health issue with well-documented adverse outcomes. With the rise in global migration, there is an increasing prevalence of FGM/C among Arab diaspora living in the West and Global South. What remains unclear is how to reduce the practice. This study was designed to identify interventions exerting an effect on reducing the practice of FGM/C.

Methods

A systematic review of peer-reviewed articles was conducted on interventions targeting individuals and/or the broader community to prevent FGM/C within the Arab League and its diaspora, up to December 2021. Databases searched included PubMed, Medline, Web of Science, PsycINFO, EMBASE, CINAHL, BIOSIS, ASSIA, and Scopus. Quality assessment used the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) 2018.

Results

Twelve of 896 studies met the inclusion criteria. Eight interventions relied entirely on education with short-term gains but unchanged practices. Three interventions used social marketing and mixed media. Only one study took a multi-sectoral approach.

Conclusions

At a macro level, opportunities to reduce or end the practice of FGM/C exist through legislation, policy, a public-health approach grounded in gender equality and human rights. Using multi-sectoral actions that consider the social context and challenge social norms at macro, meso and micro levels appears more effective than individual-level interventions. Promoting advocacy and developing supportive environments to reduce GBV, enhance gender equality and empower communities is crucial for interventions to succeed and achieve the Sustainable Development Goal target of FGM/C abandonment by 2030.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1111/tmi.13749

Rights

This Journal articles are published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The CC-BY license permits commercial and non-commercial re-use of an open access article, as long as the author is properly attributed.

Citation/Publisher Attribution

Abidogun, T.M., Alyssa Ramnarine, L., Fouladi, N., Owens, J., Abusalih, H.H., Bernstein, J. and Aboul-Enein, B.H. (2022), Female genital mutilation and cutting in the Arab League and diaspora: A systematic review of preventive interventions. Tropical Medicine & International Health. Accepted Author Manuscript. https://doi.org/10.1111/tmi.13749

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