Patterns of Female Genital Cutting in Sierra Leone - Unicef

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UNICEF: Patterns of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting in Sierra Leone
Traditional Leaders, Group or Individual (TR)
Unmarried Girls/Women Group Discussion (UG)
Unmarried Men Group Discussion (UM)
Young Mothers Group Discussion (YM)
Each interviewer was instructed to begin every interview with an explanation of our project, a request for
their help, an assurance that it was voluntary and they could decline to answer any question or discontinue
at any time, and that we would not use their names in our report unless they wanted us to. Each
interviewer was instructed to end each interview by asking, “Do you have any questions for us (me)?”
Each questionnaire was coded with the following information when possible, and a number was assigned
for identification of the transcript of the interview. For groups, we tried to include the information on all of
the participants.
Initials of interviewer: ______ Date: __________ Location: ______________
Ethnic group (circle one or more): Fula Kissi Koranko Krio Kono Krim Limba Loko Mandingo Mende
Sherbro Susu Temne Vai Yalunka Other ___________
Sex: ___M ___F
Age: ____ (or approximate age)
Married? Yes / No / Divorced / Widow Years of education: ______
Initiated? Yes____ No ___
Religion: Christian____ Muslim____ Traditional ____ Other____
Occupations or other significant role? __________________
Name(s) or initials (for use by the research team only, to identify different speakers and facilitate
transcription) ___________________
Circumcisers/Initiators (CI)
We would like to ask you, as a sowie, to help us understand about initiation in your community.
1. Please explain the services that you provide in this community. (What else besides circumcisions
are they doing? Childbirth? Other occupations for economic support?)
2. How long have you been practicing your profession and how did you learn your profession?
3. What age do you think it is best for the girl to be at the time of initiation?
4. What ages are the girls that you actually circumcise?
5. What are the benefits for girls when they go to initiation?
6. How has the practice of initiation changed compared to years past? (Age of girls, expenditure,
type of celebration, medical attention, etc.)
7. Are the parents asking for any special type of cutting or medical treatment?
8. How does a family prepare for the occasion? Who makes the decision? Does it cost the families a
lot for their girls to go through education?
9. When (during the year) do you prefer to do initiations? Why?
10. How many girls usually go at one time?
11. About how many girls did you circumcise this year? Is that the usual number?
12. Where do you usually do it?
13. What instrument do you usually use?
14. Do you use the same one for all the girls?
15. What are the steps that a girl goes through in her initiation? Has this changed over the years?
16. What kind of things do the initiates learn?
17. Do you think it is important for the girls to experience the pain?
18. How do girls change after initiation? (Their behavior?)
19. What kinds of medicines do you use when you do circumcision?
20. Do you ever bring a nurse to give injections or do other treatments? What does she do?
21. Would you like to have access to other medical supplies?
22. Are there different types of cutting that you or other sowies do? (What are they called and how
are they different?)
23. What do you think about the fact that some boys have their circumcisions in the clinic? Would
that ever happen with girls also? Should it?