The lower prevalence of female genital mutilation in the Netherlands: a nationwide study in Dutch midwifery practices

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of female genital mutilation (FGM) in women giving birth in 2008 in the Netherlands. Method: A retrospective questionnaire study was conducted.The study covered all 513 midwifery practices in the Netherlands. The data were analysed with SPSS 17.0. Results: The response from midwifery practices was 93%(n = 478). They retrospectively reported 470 circumcised women in 2008 (0.32%). The expected prevalence in the Netherlands based on the estimated prevalence of FGM in the country of birth was 0.7%. It is likely that there was under reporting in midwifery practices since midwives do not always enquire about the subject and may not notice the milder types of FGM. Midwives who checked their records before answering our questionnaire reported a prevalence of 0.8%. Conclusion: On the basis of this study, we can conclude that FGM is a serious clinical problem in Europe for migrant women from risk countries for FGM. These women should receive extra attention from obstetricians and midwives during childbirth, since almost half are mutilated and FGM involves a risk of complications during delivery for both women and children

Pleasure, orgasm, and sexual mutilations in different cultural settings

Considering all living species, humans are among the most social. In fact, from birth, we develop and live in a social context that inevitably shapes our thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes. It is also largely accepted that social contexts affect attitudes toward sexuality; specifically, the way people live out their sexual lives is tightly linked to family messages and behaviors related to appropriate sexual scripts. One’s sexual identity partly depends on gender role, the set of culturally determined expectations that prescribe specific behaviors, traits, and ways of thinking for men and women. For such reasons, attempting to understand sexual behaviors without comprehending the influence of sociocultural factors would seem both misleading and futile. Such a perspective applies even more cogently to female genital mutilation (FGM), practices that are strictly related to the cultural contexts in which they occur. FGM is defined as “all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the female external genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for cultural or any other non-therapeutic reasons” [1]. Generally, the aim of FGM (sometimes broadly referred to as female circumcision) is to preserve female sexual “integrity,” specifically, to guarantee virginity and potential marriageability following religious and social precepts. Although FGM is often associated with psychological distress, this distress becomes even greater should the woman emigrate to a Westernized society