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'I have made children, so what's the problem?' Retrospective self-circumcision and the sexual and urological needs of some Somali men in Sweden
Department of Women's and Children's Health, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
Department of Women's and Children's Health, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
Malmö högskola, Faculty of Health and Society (HS), Department of Social Work (SA). Malmö högskola, Centre for Sexology and Sexuality Studies (CSS).ORCID iD: 0000-0002-7625-5873
Department of Women's and Children's Health, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
2017 (English)In: Sexual & Reproductive HealthCare, ISSN 1877-5756, E-ISSN 1877-5764, Vol. 11, p. 36-40Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Unskilled traditional healers are widely blamed for complications to male circumcision performed in low- and middle-income settings. However, attributions of culpability are mostly anecdotal. We identify self-circumcision in adults that was performed during adolescence, hereby termed retrospective self-circumcision, and unexpectedly discovered during interviews with Somali men in Sweden in 2010. This study explores the phenomenon with the aim to increase our understanding about the health needs of this group. Two focus group discussions (six and seven participants), one informal discussion with three participants, and 27 individual interviews were conducted in 2010 and 2011 with Somali-Swedish fathers, guided by a hermeneutic, comparative natural inquiry method. Eight participants had performed retrospective self-circumcision while living in rural Somalia. Actions were justified according to strong faith in Islam. Genital physiology was described as adequate for producing children, but physical sensation or characteristics were implied as less than optimal. Few had heard about penile reconstruction. There was hesitation to openly discuss concerns, but men nevertheless encouraged each other to seek care options. Presently no medical platform is available for retrospective self-circumcision. Further systematic exploration is recommended in sexual, reproductive and urological health to increase interest in this phenomenon. Our findings suggest approachability if health communication is enabled within an Islamic context.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier, 2017. Vol. 11, p. 36-40
Keywords [en]
Male circumcision, Men's health, Penile reconstruction, Reproductive health, Migrant healthcare, Sexual wellbeing
National Category
Medical and Health Sciences
Research subject
Health and society
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-4854DOI: 10.1016/j.srhc.2016.09.004ISI: 000394066700007PubMedID: 28159126Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-84989193862Local ID: 21712OAI: oai:DiVA.org:mau-4854DiVA, id: diva2:1401688
Available from: 2020-02-28 Created: 2020-02-28 Last updated: 2024-06-17Bibliographically approved

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Johnsdotter, Sara

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