Association between female genital mutilation and intimate partner violence

Background: Female genital mutilation (FGM) and intimate partner violence (IPV) are health and human rights issues with high prevalence in Africa and long-term ramifications on the quality of life of women and their families. Despite the likelihood of shared socio-cultural causes, the relationship between the two has not been understudied. In this study, we assessed whether FGM is a risk factor for IPV. Methods: This nationally representative cross-sectional study utilized the 2006 Demographic Health Survey (DHS) conducted in Mali. The study population consisted of women aged 15-49 years who responded to the Domestic Violence and Female Genital Cutting modules of the DHS (N=7,962). The outcomes of interest were self-reported IPV and its subtypes (physical, sexual, and emotional), while the exposure was FGM. Multivariable logistic regression modeling was used to calculate adjusted odds ratios (AOR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI), while accounting for the complex sampling design of the DHS. Results: Within the study population, 87.8% reported FGM, and 23.6% reported exposure to IPV. One-fourth (25.4%) of women with FGM also reported IPV, compared to 11.5% of women without FGM (p<0.0001). Women with FGM were more than twice as likely to experience IPV (AOR=2.68; 95% CI=2.17-3.30) or an IPV subtype – physical (AOR=2.76; 95% CI=2.18-3.49), sexual (AOR=2.81; 95% CI=1.68-4.69), or emotional (AOR=2.22; 95% CI=1.67-2.96). Conclusions: We found FGM to be risk factor for IPV. Multi-tiered strategies that incorporate advocacy, policy change, and education to reduce the prevalence of FGM may potentially reduce IPV against women.