Genital Mutilation and Its Effects on Lincoln Refugees

Lauryl Hebenstreit Author

08/04/2020 Added

19 Plays

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Research on the effects of genital mutilation specific to the refugee population in Lincoln, Nebraska

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[00:00:01.440]Hello all, my name is Lauryl Hebenstreit.
[00:00:03.890]And today in my poster,
[00:00:04.910]we'll discuss general mutilation
[00:00:06.550]and its effects on Lincoln refugees.
[00:00:09.620]According to the World Health Organization,
[00:00:11.980]female genital mutilation is a harmful practice,
[00:00:15.270]falling within cultural tradition.
[00:00:17.640]This practice involves the total
[00:00:19.530]or partial removal of external female genitalia
[00:00:23.100]for nonmedical reasons.
[00:00:25.440]Male genital mutilation, according to the NCBI,
[00:00:29.150]is the permanent modification of the external genitalia
[00:00:32.640]and ablation of tissue structures within the genitalia.
[00:00:36.770]For the purpose of this specific research,
[00:00:39.620]female genital mutilation will be the most talked about form
[00:00:43.000]as it is the most widespread and damaging.
[00:00:46.070]This research, however, does acknowledge the trauma
[00:00:49.650]and struggle all genders face
[00:00:51.790]in the wake of genital mutilation.
[00:00:55.410]An estimated 200 plus million women
[00:00:58.340]have undergone female genital mutilation.
[00:01:01.360]This number is solely those who have survived the procedure,
[00:01:04.890]and sadly does not take into account the many lives lost.
[00:01:08.880]Furthermore, an estimated 3 million girls
[00:01:11.710]are at risk of undergoing general mutilation each year.
[00:01:15.680]The average age of mutilation is 15 years old
[00:01:19.690]and the practice takes place in 31 different countries,
[00:01:23.190]ranging from Africa, the Middle East,
[00:01:25.980]Asia and South America.
[00:01:29.300]With general mutilation
[00:01:30.930]comes significant and obvious physical effects.
[00:01:34.290]However, the process of genital mutilation
[00:01:36.710]has lasting impacts on future sexual relationships,
[00:01:40.520]as well as emotional wellbeing.
[00:01:43.440]In Nebraska, there are approximately 11,949 refugees.
[00:01:49.800]In Lincoln alone, there are 3,262.
[00:01:54.750]These refugees come from 36 different countries.
[00:01:58.910]Of these countries, 23 actively practice
[00:02:03.170]forms of genital mutilation.
[00:02:06.150]The purpose of this research today
[00:02:08.240]is to look at the known effects of genital mutilation
[00:02:10.720]and the consequences those effects have on refugees
[00:02:14.180]as they begin resettlement here in Lincoln.
[00:02:17.610]My method for this research like this entire summer
[00:02:20.760]was very chaotic.
[00:02:22.380]Originally, this project proposal
[00:02:23.970]was submitted with the goal of interviewing refugees
[00:02:26.330]on their lived experience, but due to COVID-19,
[00:02:29.770]methods for this project changed rapidly.
[00:02:32.640]The data you'll be seeing today
[00:02:33.920]was gathered from several resources,
[00:02:35.850]which include those from the Nebraska historic society,
[00:02:40.400]the journal publications,
[00:02:41.870]as well as material provided
[00:02:43.510]from Lutheran Family Services here in Lincoln.
[00:02:47.240]While researching, I came across many effects
[00:02:49.750]that I believe are best broken down into two categories.
[00:02:52.830]These being physical harm effects and psychological effects.
[00:02:57.270]The physical effects of genital mutilation
[00:02:59.540]are the most obvious and easily treatable.
[00:03:02.780]These physical effects include extreme bleeding
[00:03:05.410]for prolonged periods of time, infection of the wound,
[00:03:09.290]sepsis shock, fractures, and micturition.
[00:03:14.100]Chronic physical effects that may follow
[00:03:16.270]a refugee's life are anemia, urinary tract infection,
[00:03:20.810]incontinence, infertility, pain,
[00:03:24.530]difficulties with menstruation and complications
[00:03:28.060]during pregnancy and delivery.
[00:03:31.000]Survivors of female genital mutilation
[00:03:33.290]are also highly probable
[00:03:35.180]to contract sexually transmitted diseases,
[00:03:38.850]as well as give those sexually transmitted diseases
[00:03:42.340]to their partners or their children.
[00:03:45.810]The psychological effects of genital mutilation
[00:03:48.780]is a much more complicated and understudied result.
[00:03:52.260]Most studies have been conducted on refugees
[00:03:54.730]as they are the most easily accessible population to study.
[00:03:59.330]Mental harm is common amongst survivors.
[00:04:02.400]These include feelings of incompleteness,
[00:04:05.010]inferiority and fear.
[00:04:07.750]Refugee women have reported irritability lasting for years,
[00:04:11.670]accompanied with nightmares.
[00:04:14.200]A specific study analyzed 10 individual studies
[00:04:17.610]carried out on refugee women.
[00:04:20.060]Eight of those 10 studies
[00:04:21.980]found statistically significant evidence
[00:04:25.010]pointing to symptoms of trauma,
[00:04:27.040]such as post-traumatic stress disorder.
[00:04:31.240]To conclude, it is clear that these effects,
[00:04:33.810]physical and psychological,
[00:04:35.600]have lasting impacts on the survivor.
[00:04:38.210]But what can also be deduced
[00:04:39.700]is that the effects of genital mutilation
[00:04:41.630]affect a broad circle of people around the survivor.
[00:04:45.210]Partners of survivors have showed in numerous studies
[00:04:47.730]that the sexual satisfaction has decreased,
[00:04:50.780]as well as marital satisfaction as a whole.
[00:04:53.820]Marital satisfaction and partner satisfaction
[00:04:56.470]are key players in the development
[00:04:58.550]of healthy family structures and in raising children.
[00:05:02.590]By looking at the two effects,
[00:05:03.870]it is also clear that medical personnel
[00:05:05.900]and those who are aiding refugees in Lincoln,
[00:05:08.270]such as Lutheran Family Services
[00:05:10.080]and Catholic Family Services
[00:05:12.020]must have a deep understanding and cultural knowledge
[00:05:15.390]of refugee's country of origin,
[00:05:17.550]to better understand survivors of genital mutilation.
[00:05:21.980]Per the bottom left graphic on the poster,
[00:05:24.500]most general mutilations take place in Africa
[00:05:27.660]with several countries participating,
[00:05:30.000]leaving an approximate 1 million plus girls
[00:05:33.080]and women affected.
[00:05:35.520]Looking at just the countries of Sudan,
[00:05:37.890]Somalia and Eritrea would reflect these numbers.
[00:05:42.090]With Sudan, having 88% of its women
[00:05:46.070]and girl population affected,
[00:05:48.610]Somalia at 98% and Eritrea 89%.
[00:05:54.670]What is so important to note, however,
[00:05:57.060]is that the plight of genital mutilation
[00:05:59.360]does not check its bags at the door of the United States.
[00:06:03.180]All three of the shown populations
[00:06:05.780]live right here in Lincoln.
[00:06:08.740]And so what the conclusions of this research show
[00:06:11.370]is that there is a great need for an understanding
[00:06:13.770]of the effects of genital mutilation
[00:06:15.590]when it comes to refugee populations.
[00:06:18.330]Further work on this project,
[00:06:19.790]without the limitations of a pandemic
[00:06:22.070]would create greater understanding
[00:06:23.830]of the effects of genital mutilation.
[00:06:26.346]In the future, this research will seek to interview refugees
[00:06:29.550]on their lived experiences
[00:06:31.240]with the effects of genital mutilation.
[00:06:33.950]Conducting interviews would help
[00:06:35.490]further expand this research,
[00:06:37.390]so then deeper conclusions can be reached
[00:06:39.620]to better help doctors and psychiatrists,
[00:06:42.170]as well as social workers and their care for refugee people.
[00:06:46.520]Further research would also provide knowledge
[00:06:48.800]to Nebraskans so we can all cater to each other's humanity.
[00:06:53.690]I would like to acknowledge Dr. Jennifer Rome
[00:06:56.060]and the women in Gender Studies department,
[00:06:58.210]as well as the University of Nebraska Lincoln
[00:07:00.320]for making this research possible.
[00:07:02.500]Thank you.

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Genital Mutilation and Its Effects on Lincoln Refugees

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