FGM and HIV?

[Ann-Marita]

Are there any studies that show a relationship between female genital mutilation and HIV? I don't care if it's not "accepted" by western medical professionals.

I remember (I think) someone saying that the Circ-HIV stuff was very similar to studies that showed a decrease in HIV transmission due to FGM.

Thanks!

[Fellow Traveler]

Not the same type of study but here is the abstract:

http://www.ias-2005.org/planner/Abstracts.aspx?AID=3138

[Ann-Marita]

I think that's what I'm looking for.

I want to be able to tell a friend (who claims that circ = lower HIV chance) that FGM also shows a lowered HIV chance. But she would never allow her daughter to be cut, so why would she cut her son.

[tlh]

Phimosis is also a reason why people circumcise their sons you could also bring this up to her.From what I have read it is probably very common in girls too.


Phimosis of the prepuce of the clitoris: indication for female circumcision.

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/art...?artid=1289644

Anatomy and Sexual Dysfunction


http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=...-sexual-dysfun

[mamabadger]

Originally Posted by Ann-Marita

I want to be able to tell a friend (who claims that circ = lower HIV chance) that FGM also shows a lowered HIV chance. But she would never allow her daughter to be cut, so why would she cut her son.

I wonder if this could end up having the opposite effect - that female infant circumcision could eventually make a comeback here.

[Nandi]

I've wondered that myself! Scary. Especially with the studies showing that FGM lowers the incidence of AIDS infection.
However, there are phase 2 trials of an AID's vaccine right now, so I think sometime soon we will have a vaccine for AID's, and the pro-circers will come up with some other disease to say circ is the panacea for.

[Ann-Marita]

The woman I am thinking of talking with about this would NEVER allow her daughter to be cut. So, with her, the argument that "well, FGM helps prevent AIDS too, but it's not rational to do that; MGM isn't rational either" would hold weight with her.

[Fellow Traveler]

Originally Posted by mamabadger

I wonder if this could end up having the opposite effect - that female infant circumcision could eventually make a comeback here.

It would never happen. The could discover that FGM completely stopped transmission and they would never use it. Actually, if it did they would never know about it because they would never initiate research to answer that question.