{"title":"The psychosocial effects of Female Genital Mutilation in sub-Saharan Africa: A scoping review.","authors":"Daniel Lesiba Letsoalo, Mahlatsi Venolia Semenya","doi":"10.1080/03630242.2025.2547608","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a deeply ingrained cultural practice in many regions of sub-Saharan Africa, involving the partial or complete removal of external genitalia for non-medical purposes. It is estimated that millions of women are affected by this. Despite global attempts to eradicate this behavior, it continues to be prevalent, causing severe psychological and social repercussions for those affected. Noteworthy effects encompass anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), chronic pain, infections, and complications related to childbirth. The purpose of this scoping review, conducted against this background, was to comprehensively examine and synthesize the available research on the psychosocial effects of FGM in sub-Saharan Africa, while also identifying key themes and gaps in the literature. To incorporate the latest research, the review encompassed a ten-year period from 2014 to 2024. The study adopted the Arksey and O'Malley methodology and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines for comprehensive analysis and reporting. Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms, Boolean keywords, and truncations were utilized to search relevant studies in selected databases. The consulted databases included Academic Search Ultimate, APA PsycArticles, APA PsycInfo, Global Health, CINAHL Plus with Full Text, MEDLINE, and Taylor and Francis Online. The identified studies were crosschecked by conducting a manual search on Google Scholar and Google. The results showed that victims of FGM experience numerous negative psychosocial consequences. Community-based education programs, support groups for victims, increased resources, sensitively trained healthcare professionals, and strict enforcement of FGM laws are all essential in addressing this conundrum. Conducting longitudinal studies is suggested to track victims' long-term psychosocial effects.</p>","PeriodicalId":23972,"journal":{"name":"Women & Health","volume":" ","pages":"618-637"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4000,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Women & Health","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/03630242.2025.2547608","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2025/9/1 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a deeply ingrained cultural practice in many regions of sub-Saharan Africa, involving the partial or complete removal of external genitalia for non-medical purposes. It is estimated that millions of women are affected by this. Despite global attempts to eradicate this behavior, it continues to be prevalent, causing severe psychological and social repercussions for those affected. Noteworthy effects encompass anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), chronic pain, infections, and complications related to childbirth. The purpose of this scoping review, conducted against this background, was to comprehensively examine and synthesize the available research on the psychosocial effects of FGM in sub-Saharan Africa, while also identifying key themes and gaps in the literature. To incorporate the latest research, the review encompassed a ten-year period from 2014 to 2024. The study adopted the Arksey and O'Malley methodology and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines for comprehensive analysis and reporting. Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms, Boolean keywords, and truncations were utilized to search relevant studies in selected databases. The consulted databases included Academic Search Ultimate, APA PsycArticles, APA PsycInfo, Global Health, CINAHL Plus with Full Text, MEDLINE, and Taylor and Francis Online. The identified studies were crosschecked by conducting a manual search on Google Scholar and Google. The results showed that victims of FGM experience numerous negative psychosocial consequences. Community-based education programs, support groups for victims, increased resources, sensitively trained healthcare professionals, and strict enforcement of FGM laws are all essential in addressing this conundrum. Conducting longitudinal studies is suggested to track victims' long-term psychosocial effects.
切割女性生殖器官是撒哈拉以南非洲许多地区根深蒂固的文化习俗，涉及为非医疗目的部分或完全切除外部生殖器。据估计，数百万妇女受到这一问题的影响。尽管全球都在努力根除这种行为，但它仍然普遍存在，给受影响的人造成严重的心理和社会影响。值得注意的影响包括焦虑、抑郁、创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）、慢性疼痛、感染和与分娩有关的并发症。在此背景下进行的这一范围审查的目的是全面审查和综合撒哈拉以南非洲地区关于女性生殖器切割的社会心理影响的现有研究，同时确定文献中的关键主题和空白。为了纳入最新的研究，该审查涵盖了从2014年到2024年的十年时间。本研究采用了Arksey和O'Malley方法，以及用于系统评价和元分析扩展范围评价的首选报告项目（PRISMA-ScR）指南进行综合分析和报告。使用医学主题词（MeSH）术语、布尔关键词和截断在选定的数据库中搜索相关研究。咨询的数据库包括Academic Search Ultimate、APA PsycArticles、APA PsycInfo、Global Health、CINAHL Plus with Full Text、MEDLINE和Taylor and Francis Online。通过在谷歌Scholar和谷歌上进行人工搜索，对已确定的研究进行交叉检查。结果表明，女性生殖器切割的受害者经历了许多负面的社会心理后果。以社区为基础的教育方案、受害者支持小组、增加资源、训练有素的保健专业人员以及严格执行切割女性生殖器官的法律，都是解决这一难题的关键。建议进行纵向研究，以跟踪受害者的长期心理社会影响。
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Women & Health publishes original papers and critical reviews containing highly useful information for researchers, policy planners, and all providers of health care for women. These papers cover findings from studies concerning health and illness and physical and psychological well-being of women, as well as the environmental, lifestyle and sociocultural factors that are associated with health and disease, which have implications for prevention, early detection and treatment, limitation of disability and rehabilitation.
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