Training & Speakers
MWNFGC aims to educate health care providers and immigrant populations on the medical, legal, cultural, and human rights aspects of FGC.
"Even though cultural practices may appear senseless or destructive from the standpoint of others, they have meaning and fulfill a function for those who practise them. However, culture is not static; it is in constant flux, adapting and reforming. People will change their behaviour when they understand the hazards and indignity of harmful practices and when they realize that it is possible to give up harmful practices without giving up meaningful aspects of their culture."
-Female Genital Mutilation, A joint WHO/UNICEF/UNFPA statement,
World Health Organization, Geneva, 1997.
What Is Cultural Competency?
Cultural and linguistic competence is a set of congruent behaviors, attitudes, and policies that come together in a system, agency, or among professionals that enables effective work in cross-cultural situations. 'Culture' refers to integrated patterns of human behavior that include the language, thoughts, communications, actions, customs, beliefs, values, and institutions of racial, ethnic, religious, or social groups. 'Competence' implies having the capacity to function effectively as an individual and an organization within the context of the cultural beliefs, behaviors, and needs presented by consumers and their communities. (Adapted from Cross, 1989). – The Office of Minority Health
Previous studies of women with FGC in a non-western context revealed high maternal/fetal morbidity and mortality which may be confounded by delivery location, lack of access to skilled medical facilities and level of technical training of birth attendants. Similarly, new evidence on the maternal/fetal outcomes related to FGC among immigrant populations in the West suggests that poor outcomes may not be related to FGC itself, but may instead be related to Health Care Provider (HCP) misunderstanding of the cultural context of immigrant women living in the West, and inadequate communication between HCPs and women with FGC which may lead to patient refusal of necessary care, inadequate comprehension of and/or underutilization of prenatal care services. – Crista Johnson
Network Members are available to provide presentations and trainings on FGC and cultural competency for health care providers and students:
Nicole Warren, PhD, MPH, CNM, Assistant Clinical Professor, Loyola University Chicago
Crista Johnson, MD, Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar, University of Michigan
Are you interested in having a speaker in your classroom/conference/office? Please Contact Us to find out how.