The mother to daughter transmission of Female Genital Cutting in emigration as evidenced by Italian survey data

The feminization of African international migration flows has led to an increased presence of women in immigration contexts who have undergone Female Genital Cutting (FGC). In Italy, as well as in other countries, there is an increasing need to have detailed information about this practice among immigrants. This has led researchers to gather primary data in order to investigate topics such as its prevalence and parents’ attitudes on circumcising their daughters. The theoretical background used in practicing countries to analyse the persistence of the practice also needs to be adapted to the immigrants’ new life context. According to this approach, the FGC occurrence among the daughters of women born in practicing countries was modelled using data from the First Italian Survey of the Sexual and Reproductive Health of Migrant Women (2010). Multilevel random intercept logistic regressions were performed to examine which characteristics of the daughters, mothers and community are associated with the daughters’ FGC experience. The results showed a lower prevalence of FGC among immigrant communities than that estimated in the countries of origin. The multilevel analysis indicated that younger children born in emigration have a lower risk of FGC, with selected characteristics of the mothers and community also being relevant in reducing the continuation of the practice.