Female Genital Mutilation Snap Poll Result Release

FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION SNAP POLL RESULT RELEASE

Nigerians Express Support for Legislation to End Female Genital Mutilation/ Circumcision in Nigeria

Abuja, Nigeria. February 28th, 2017– Latest public opinion poll results released by NOIPolls have revealed that majority of Nigerians will support legislation to end Female Genital Mutilation popularly known as Female Circumcision as shown by the 90 percent of Nigerians who attested to this in the course of this survey. This is in line with the aim of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to eradicate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation. In 2016, United Nations General Assembly accepted‘The Girl Child Resolution’which recognizes FGM as a form of discrimination and a violation of the rights of the girl child.

According to the United Nation Population Fund, an estimated 200 million girls and women alive today are believed to have been subjected to FGM and those who have experienced FGM live predominately in sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab States. In Africa, FGM is practiced among certain communities in 29 countries namely Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda and Zambia.[1]

More findings revealed that although 87 percent expressed knowledge of FGM, 64 percent of this proportion confirmed that FGM is not prevalent in their locality while 36 percent disclosed that there are various degrees of prevalence within their communities; with high level of prevalence across Ondo, Kwara, Enugu, Delta, Adamawa, Ebonyi, Ondo, Cross-River, Anambra and Niger states. While this may be deemed as a low number (36 percent) in comparison with results from other countries such as; Somalia (98 percent), Guinea (96 percent), Djibouti (93 percent), Egypt (91 percent), Eritrea and Mali (88 percent each) and Sierra Leone and Sudan (88 percent each) which reported a high prevalence of FGM[2], as revealed by a study undertaken by UNICEF, it still highlights the need for a call to action to completely eradicate this practice in Nigeria.

Assessing support for the practice, 88 percent stated that they do not support it while 12 percent supported the practice with residents from the South-West zone accounting for the larger proportion of Nigerians in this category. Nigerians (48 percent) who showed support for FGM cited prevention of women promiscuity, and another 33 percent because it is traditional and protects their tradition from becoming obsolete as their reasons. On the contrary, 22 percent who did not support FGM mentioned health complications, while 18 percent also regarded it as been unethical. Finally, education of the general public at all levels with emphasis on the dangers and undesirability of FGM is paramount as 10 percent clearly disclose that they will not support any legislation to put an end to FGM in Nigeria. These were some of the key findings from the Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) poll conducted in the week commencingFebruary 13th, 2017.

Brief Background

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) otherwise known as female circumcision is a tradition whose origins could be difficult to trace as it is practiced all over the African continent. FGM is the partial or complete removal of the external part of the female genitalia for non-medical reasons. There have been widespread interventions aimed at reducing and changing the perception of the world about FGM, yet, the practice still lingers. According to a United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF) report, in the sub Saharan Africa, Nigeria, Sudan, Mali and Ghana have been labelled as practicing the worst type of FGM. Various reasons were given by those who practice it ranging from culture, religion to superstition.[3]

A few years ago, there were public sensitization campaigns against the practice of FGM which gained momentum and attracted global interest after the World Health Organization (WHO) study which associated the practice of FGM with increased risk of adverse obstetrics outcome.[4]Despite the various campaigns to discourage the act, it continues to be widespread in many parts of the world. According to health experts, the instant health consequences of FGM are infection and excessive bleeding also known as haemorrhage which can have a drastic effect enough to threaten life. Long term effects such as sexual dysfunction, menstrual and fertility problems, difficulties with childbirth and psychological damage are also reported.[5]In many countries, there are laws that forbid the practice of FGM, yet studies have shown that the practice is still persist despite an increased awareness and increased general negative attitude towards it. Against this background, NOIPolls conducted its latest poll to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of Nigerians towards the practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).

Survey Findings

In gauging the level of awareness on the issue of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in Nigeria, the poll results revealed that most Nigerians (87 percent) are aware of the practice of female circumcision / FGM and this finding cuts across gender, age, geographical location, cultural settings or religious belief. On the other hand, 13 percent of the respondents showed total ignorance, claiming not to be aware of Female Circumcision and respondents in this category had their interviews terminated at this point.

The poll sought the prevalence of the practice of FGM amongst immediate communities in Nigeria and findings revealed that the majority of the respondents (64 percent) affirmed that the practice of FGM is not at all prevalent within their communities and localities. Residents from the North-West (79 percent) and the North-Central (78 percent) zones had the highest percentage in this category while the South-South zone with 39 percent had the least. In addition, 65 percent of those aged between 18 – 35 years formed the largest proportion of those who confirmed that the practice of FGM is not at all prevalent in their vicinity and this could be an indication of a gradual abolishment of the practice.

Furthermore, 29 percent stated that the practice is somewhat prevalent while 5 percent and 2 percent of the respondents stated that the practice of FGM is very prevalent and extremely prevalent in their locality respectively. The South-South (54 percent), North-East (32 percent), South-East and South-West zones (30 percent each) had the largest proportion of Nigerians who reported that the act is somewhat prevalent and some of the specific states in these zones includes Cross-River, Delta, Adamawa, Borno, Ebonyi, Anambra, Ondo and Ogun states respectively. Some of the L.G.As where this practice is particularly prevalent are; Moro, Ilorin-south, Ilorin-north in Kwara state and Akure-north and Akure-south in Ondo state. Other are Ika-south, Ughelli, Warri-south, Sapele and Aniocha-south all in Delta state.

The poll also evaluated the support of Nigerians for Female Circumcision and the results show that most of the respondents surveyed (88 percent) say they are not in support of the practice in the country; and this also cuts across gender, geo-political zones and age-group. However, 12 percent expressed their firm support for the practice of FGM, particularly amongst respondents in some South-West (19 percent) and South-East (15 percent) states; as well as senior citizens aged 60 and above (19 percent).

Respondents who disclosed their support for female circumcision were further probed to state their reasons and 48 percent stated that‘it prevents women from being promiscuous’and respondents from the North-west zone accounted for the largest proportion of Nigerians in this section with emphasis on Kano state.

This was followed by 33 percent who mentioned that‘it is our tradition’and respondents in this category would rather not abolish their tradition and Adamawa state had the highest percentage in the North-East. Additionally, 8 percent mentioned that‘it has no health complications’and the 7 percent‘it aids easy child delivery’. However, on the flipside, the United Nation Population Fund believes that practice of FGM have been medically proven to have serious implications for the sexual and reproductive health of girls and women, with attendant issues such as infibulation, severe pain, shock, haemorrhage, tetanus or other infections, urine retention, ulceration of the genital region and injury to adjacent tissue, wound infection, urinary infection, fever, anaemia and septicaemia among other complications during childbirth.

Similarly, respondents who do not support the practice justified their position with the following reasons:‘It creates health complications’(26 percent), ‘it is unethical and unnecessary’(23 percent),‘it is against our religious beliefs’(14 percent) and‘it is a harmful practice’(13 percent) amongst other mentions.

Lastly, the views of Nigerians regarding legislation against the practice of FGM were assessed; and an overwhelming majority (90 percent) indicated their absolute support for legislation to abolish the practice in the country. On the contrary, 10 percent of the respondents declared firmly that they would not support any legislation to end the practice of female circumscision, saying that they identify with the practice from a socio-cultural perspective and it would amount to them going against their ancestral beliefs if the practice was to be abolished.

In conclusion, the poll has shown that majority of Nigerians (87 percent) are aware of the practice of female circumcision otherwise known as Female Genital Mutilation; with 36 percent acknowledging its prevalence in various parts of the country. Incidentally, while a significant proportion of the population (88 percent) do not support the practice, 12 percent of those polled remained absolutely in support of it, with reasons to justify their positions on both sides of the divide. The poll clearly established that the practice of FGM still persists in states such as Ondo, Kwara, Enugu, Delta, Adamawa, Ebonyi, Cross-River, Anambra and Niger. Also, thepoll has revealed that at least 9 in 10 Nigerians would support any legislation that would seek to abolish the practice of FGM. Finally, with the findings from this poll, we can conclude that more work needs to be done in the area of sensitization and enlightenment on the dangers and negative side-effects of this practice.

Moreover, we highlight from the poll that there are deep-seated socio-cultural beliefs and innuendos that form the bedrock for the continued support of the practice in several communities, particularly in the rural and semi-urban areas. It is therefore recommended that a multi-stakeholder approach, involving medical practitioners, state & local government officials, federal & state ministries of health, traditional rulers, indigenous healthcare attendants, NGOs, CBOs, FBOs and the general public; be adopted to address the issue in a cross-cutting manner. The media, development partners and the third sector all have a huge role to play in designing, funding and implementing sensitization campaigns to get the message, especially to the grassroots, where the practice is mostly prevalent.

Survey Methods

This opinion poll was conducted in the week ofFebruary 13th2017.It involved telephone interviews of a random nationwide sample. 1,000 randomly selected phone-owning Nigerians aged 18 years and above, representing the six geo-political zones in the country, were interviewed. With a sample of this size, we can say with 95% confidence that the results obtained are statistically precise - within a range of plus or minus 3%. NOIPolls is the No1 for country specific polling services in West Africa. We conduct periodic opinion polls and studies on various socio-economic and political issues in Nigeria. More information is available at

Disclaimer

This press release has been produced by NOIPolls Limited to provide information on all issues which form the subject matter of the document. Kindly note that while we are willing to share results from our polls with the general public, we only request that NOIPolls be acknowledged as author whenever and wherever our poll results are used, cited or published.

NOIPolls hereby certifies that all the views expressed in this document accurately reflect its views of respondents surveyed for the poll, and background information is based on information from various sources that it believes are reliable; however, no representation is made that it is accurate or complete. Whilst reasonable care has been taken in preparing this document, no responsibility or liability is accepted for errors or fact or for any views expressed herein by NOIPolls for actions taken as a result of information provided in this report. Any ratings, forecasts, estimates, opinions or views herein constitute a judgment as at the date of this document. If the date of this document is not current, the views and content may not reflect NOIPolls’ current findings and/or thinking.

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