The issue of female genital cutting (FGC) can be argued to pose a profound challenge for those who wish to focus on cuturally competent care, and those providing such care to women who have experienced FGC must seek particular kinds of information in order provide adequate treatment.
Vissandjée et al (2014) note that one of the first things a culturally sensitive nurse should determine from a patient who has experienced FGC is their relative level of pain. The authors note that one frequent result occurrence within cases of FGC is that women do not report pain and signs of infection because they are not aware “that the pain may not be a “normal” condition, whether it be provoked during sexual activities or a chronic sensation.” (p. 13). In this sense it is clear that culturally sensitive care giver must be able to discuss the level of patients pain, or their symptoms in general, while ensuring that they are able to understand that high levels of such pain are not a normal and inevitable experience.
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To build on this, Donna Scott Tilly (2015) notes that nurses providing culturally competent care to women who have experienced FGC should be careful to ensure that they do not fetishize the procedure itself, as this may both be culturally offensive and may interfere with being able to provide effective treatment. Tilly writes that when ascertaining symptoms, nurses should “ask about specific conditions, not what she [a female patient] has experienced as a result of the procedure [FGC]” (p. 448).
In this sense, it is clear that those providing care for those who have experienced FGC must be able to discuss the woman’s symptoms in ammanner which enables her to understand what a “normal” level of discomfort may be, and also that they must be careful to avoid focusing solely on the procedure the woman has undergone, and focus instead on a discussion of specific symptoms.
- Tilley, D. (2015). Nursing Care of Women Who Have Undergone Genital Cutting.Nursing for Women’s Health,19(5), 445-449.
- Vissandjée, B., Denetto, S., Migliardi, P., & Proctor, J. (2014). Female Genital Cutting (FGC) and the ethics of care: Community engagement and cultural sensitivity at the interface of migration experiences.BMC International Health and Human Rights, 14, 13.
