FGC Symposium Program.pdf - Canadian Women's Health Network

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Lisa Avery, MD, FRCSC, MIH - After completing her residencyin obstetrics and gynecology at University of Manitoba, Dr. Averyrelocated to Denmark where she obtained her Masters degree inInternational Public Health from the University of Copenhagen.During her time in Denmark, Dr. Avery also worked for the WHORegional Office for Europe, where she was able to further pursue herinterest in the area of sexual and reproductive health of women in lowand middle income societies, with a focus on marginalizedpopulations.Upon returning to Canada, Dr. Avery accepted a faculty position at theUniversity of Manitoba’s newly created Centre for Global PublicHealth, with cross appointments in the Departments of MedicalMicrobiology and Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences(where she is also director of resident research). Currently she dividesher time between reproductive public health programmes and researchin India, Kenya and Canada. While the amount of travel overseasprevents her from having a clinical practice of her own, clinical locumopportunities in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories and Winnipeg,Manitoba allow Dr. Avery to continue to be active in providingclinical care, which she very much enjoys. While in Kenya she is alsoactively involved with the fistula repair program.She is a member of SOCG and since 2007 has been the editor of“Entre Nous” the WHO Regional Office for Europe’s Journal onSexual and Reproductive Health.Ms. Najla Barnawi (MN, PhDStudent) is an International PhD Student onScholarship from the Saudi Arabian governmentfor 5 Years. She is doing her PhD degree atUniversity of Alberta, Faculty of Nursing. Shedid her Masters degree at University of Toronto,in Women's Health Studies in the NursingFaculty. Ms Barnawi’s doctoral investigationfocusing on female genital cutting and the impactof this on labor and delivery, is novel andprofoundly important for immigrant women whohave undergone this procedure as theconsequences may be overwhelming both for thewomen and health care providers. The potentialcomplications that may ensue during labor anddelivery maybe serious, life-changing andpreventable. The topic is vastly under-researchedin the Canadian context, yet Canada is one of thetop immigrant receiving nations globally withimmigrant populations from national stateswhere female genital cutting is commonplacesuch as Saharan and Sub-Saharan Africa.Clinical Encounters: CrossCultural Perspectives inSexual and ReproductiveHealthThrough the use of clinical casevignettes health care provider’sknowledge, understanding andperceptions of Female Genital Cutting(FGC) will be presented, includingemphasis on the potential positive andnegative effects these beliefs may haveon sexual and reproductive healthseeking behaviour and outcomes ofdifferent cultural groups. By the end ofthe session the participant will: befamiliar with the WHO definition forFGC; learn about the prevalence ofFGC in the Canadian context; be awareof adverse health outcomes associatedwith FGC; recognize the importance ofcultural sensitivity in clinicalencounters with clients of differentcultural backgrounds; and be aware ofhow health care provider’s perspectivestowards FGC can affect health careinteractions.Circumcised Immigrant Pregnant Women:Implications for the Canadian Health CareSystemFemale Circumcision (FC) is defined by the World HealthOrganization (WHO) as "all procedures involving partial ortotal removal of the female external genitalia or other injuryto female organs whether for cultural or other nontherapeuticreasons" (WHO, 1995). Numerous women whohave undergone FC immigrated to Canada. However,Canadian health care professionals lack knowledge, as wellas cultural sensitivity, about circumcised immigrant womenin general and pregnant women (CIPW) in particular.This presentation will focus on the following themes: thecultural context for FC highlighting the gap that existsbetween the CIPW and health professionals; critiques ofCanadian movements regarding FC legislation whichemphasize primary prevention versus secondary prevention;strategies for the development of clinical guidelines forCIPW which include a) increasing evidence based onqualitative research and b) building cultural competency inproviding care to CIPW.
BIOS AND ABSTRACTS cont’d.Simret Daniel, BN - is an internationally educatedPublic Health Nurse currently in the process of registrationas an RN in Canada. Simret has worked with the SexualityEducation Resource Centre (Winnipeg) as the “Our SelvesOur Daughters” Project Facilitator since 2009. In this role,Simret has co-facilitated the community engagementconsultations, education sessions and service providers’workshops. She has also worked in community developmentat Mount Carmel Clinic. Prior to coming to Canada, she hadmore than five years of nursing experience, providing patientcare and delivering health education about the possiblehealth risks of FGC to women in different communities(mainly refugees) in two African countries.Linda Plenert, BA, is a Sexual and ReproductiveHealth Facilitator with the Sexuality Education ResourceCentre in Winnipeg. Linda is an experienced facilitatorworking in a variety of communities in the areas of cultureand sexuality, women's sexuality, aging and sexuality, andfamily communication about sexuality. Linda has beeninvolved with many aspects of the Our Selves, OurDaughters project from its early stages. She and SimretDaniel collaborated on the development and facilitation ofthe community education sessions as well as the serviceprovider training workshops.Our Selves, Our Daughters:Community-Based Education andEngagement with AfricanNewcomer Women in WinnipegEquipped with the information provided by thecommunity-based research process, a 10-weekseries of community education workshops wasdeveloped. Three series of workshops were heldwith women from an African community.The workshops were designed to provide aculturally safe space for women to learn andshare. Sessions addressed women’s overallsexual and reproductive health; the topic ofFGC was integrated throughout. Livelydiscussions explored the complexities of thecultural factors that support the practice as wellas the implications of change.Evaluation of the sessions, as well as directfeedback from the community at our FinalEvent, showed strong support for this integratedmodel of community engagement, consultation,and education to address this culturally complexand taboo subject.Shereen Denetto, MSW, has worked at theSexuality Education Resource Centre as Special ProjectsCoordinator since 2004. In this role, she has coordinatedseveral projects in and with immigrant and refugeecommunities addressing, through education andcommunity engagement, women’s and men’s sexual andreproductive health, family communication/conflict, andviolence prevention. She has worked in numerouscommunity health settings in Ontario and Manitoba. Herwork is strongly informed by a social justice and humanrights perspective.Paula Migliardi, MA Paula received a Mastersdegree in Anthropology from the University ofManitoba. Much of her work and interest lie in socialand health areas, designing and developing of researchand evaluation with a diverse number of organizationsand communities. She is the Research and ProgramEvaluation Coordinator with the Sexuality EducationResource Centre (SERC), and works as the CommunityBased Research Facilitator of the Prairie HIVCommunity-Based Research Program for Manitoba andSaskatchewan.Our Selves Our Daughters: A Community-Based Research Project with an AfricanNewcomer Community in Winnipeg Addressing Female Genital CuttingThe “Our Selves, Our Daughters” project was initiated bya nurse from an African newcomer community whoapproached SERC wanting to address the health impactsof FGC and support prevention. We began the project with8 months of community-based consultation and researchwith the aim to develop relationships and trust, gatherknowledge, build support, and sensitize the community tothe concept of addressing FGC. We conducted 5consultation groups with a total of 30 women, 3 follow-upinterviews and individual interviews with 8 communityleaders (3 women, 5 men). A participatory approach wasused to analyze findings. We held community meetingswith grassroots women and leaders to further verify,validate and expand on the learnings of the consultations.Women’s exploration of sexuality and sexual health
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