Assessment of Barriers of Behavioral Change to Stop FGM Practice among Women of Kebri Beyah District, Somali Regional State, Eastern Ethiopia
Background: Among harmful traditional practices, Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) is widely practiced across the world. The practice involves either partial or total removal of the female external genitalia for various reasons. FGM is documented to be rooted in religious, personal and societal factors. FGM is documented to be widespread across Ethiopia and is believed to be widely practiced in Somali region. Objectives: To assess barriers of behavioral change to stop FGM practice among women of Kebri Beyah district in Somali region, where the high prevalence of FGM is documented. Methods: A community-based cross-section study design was applied. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were employed to generate relevant evidence. A total of 633 households drawn from five randomly selected kebeles involved in the quantitative part of the study. Participants identified purposefully were involved in the qualitative study. While survey data was analyzed by SPSS version 21. Multiple logistic regressions were carried out to examine the existence of a relationship between intention to stop FGM and socio demographic characteristics. On the other hand, qualitative data were analyzed thematically and the result was presented in narration. The findings of the study can be utilized as baseline for further studies related to behavioral change intervention. Results: This study revealed that 69.5% of the respondents intend to stop FGM. Religion was the major reasons for the perpetuation of this practice. About 50.3% of circumcision was performed by traditional birth attendants. 87.4% of participants responded that FGM was being practiced in that area. More than 79.9% of participants were undergone Sunni type of circumcision. More than 79.9% of participants were undergone Sunni type of circumcision. Most of respondents were found have good knowledge and negative attitude towards FGM. Divorced respondents were 4.35 (AOR=4.35, 95% CI (1.03, 18.33) times more likely intendin
