Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University Public Health Theses School of Public Health Spring 5-4-2010 The Association between Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and the Risk of HIV/AIDS in Kenyan Girls and Women (15-49 Years) Rosemary G. Kinuthia Georgia State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/iph_theses Part of the Public Health Commons Recommended Citation Kinuthia, Rosemary G., "The Association between Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and the Risk of HIV/ AIDS in Kenyan Girls and Women (15-49 Years)." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2010. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/iph_theses/98 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Public Health at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Public Health Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Abstract Rosemary Kinuthia The Association between Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and the Risk of HIV/AIDS in Kenyan Girls and Women (15-49 Years) (Under the direction of Dr. Ike S. Okosun, MS, MPH, PhD, FRSPH and Dr. Richard Rothenberg, MD, MPH, FACP). INTRODUCTION: Kenya like the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa continues to be plagued with high rates of AIDS/HIV. Research has shown that cultural practices have serious implications for the spread of HIV/AIDS, as well as other communicable diseases. One of the practices that have been speculated to have an impact on AIDS/HIV is female genital mutilation (FGM). Despite efforts to eradicate the practice, prevalence of FGM in Kenya remains relatively high.