The psychosocial effects of Female Genital Mutilation in sub-Saharan Africa: A scoping review

Women Health. 2025 Sep 1:1-20. doi: 10.1080/03630242.2025.2547608. Online ahead of print.

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.

PMID:40888129 | DOI:10.1080/03630242.2025.2547608