ABSTRACT
Introduction: Harmful traditional practices are forms of violence which is committed primarily against women and girls. In some communities and societies harmful traditional practices had been practiced for a very long time to the extent that they are now embed in their cultural practices. Hence, they see them as social and cultural norms and anyone who refused to practice them is seen as a deviant and sometimes punished. It encompasses a range of abuse which results in physical and psychological harm, disability and even death for significant number of women and girls. The most common forms are Female Genital Cutting, early girl child marriage, male child preference, female child infanticide e.t.c.
Objective: To assess harmful traditional practices among adults in Egor local government area, Benin-City.
Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study design was utilized for this study among adults in Egor local government area, Benin-City. Respondents were selected using a multistage sampling technique. Data was collected with a standardized structured interviewer-administered questionnaire. Data was analyzed with IBM SPSS version 22.0 and quantitative variables were expressed as frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviation.
Results: A total of 427 respondents participated in this study. The mean age of the respondents was 30.00 ± 0.1 years. The overall knowledge of harmful traditional practices was good 257 (77.0%). Majority of the respondents had an overall positive attitude towards harmful traditional practices 283 (66.0%). The prevalence of Female Genital Cutting was high 220 (71.9%), The prevalence of early girl child marriage was zero. The prevalence of male child preference was high 369 (86.4%). Factors responsible for the continuity of harmful traditional practices were religion, culture, family and society.
Conclusion: The knowledge of harmful traditional practices was good. However, this did not result in negative attitude towards harmful traditional practices. The prevalence of harmful traditional practices was high. Hence, joint efforts is required from both government and health care personnel to reduce and/or eradicate harmful traditional practices.
Keywords: Harmful traditional practices, violence against women/girls.
