The feminization of African international migration flows has led to an increased presence of women in immigration contexts who have undergone Female Genital Cutting (FGC). In Italy, as well as in other countries, there is an increasing need to have detailed information about this practice among immigrants. This has led researchers to gather primary data in order to investigate topics such as its prevalence and parents’ attitudes on circumcising their daughters. The theoretical background used in practicing countries to analyse the persistence of the practice also needs to be adapted to the immigrants’ new life context. According to this approach, the FGC occurrence among the daughters of women born in practicing countries was modelled using data from the First Italian Survey of the Sexual and Reproductive Health of Migrant Women (2010). Multilevel random intercept logistic regressions were performed to examine which characteristics of the daughters, mothers and community are associated with the daughters’ FGC experience. The results showed a lower prevalence of FGC among immigrant communities than that estimated in the countries of origin. The multilevel analysis indicated that younger children born in emigration have a lower risk of FGC, with selected characteristics of the mothers and community also being relevant in reducing the continuation of the practice.

This study draws on 52 in-depth interviews and participant observation conducted on the northeastern edge of the Tibetan plateau between May 2012 and August 2013. Women’s domestic violence vulnerability is assessed looking particularly at various types of marital and decision-making arrangements within households. Different forms of extended family living arrangements and abuse by women’s in-laws emerge as crucial sites of analysis. This study adds to current knowledge by discussing the specific impact of household marital form on domestic violence a topic that is under-addressed within domestic violence research. Matrilocal arrangements can offer the best protection to women while patrilocal arrangements put women in a position of greatest vulnerability. Women’s vulnerability in patrilocal marriage hinges on their land-based material constraints their social isolation and women’s low status vis-a-vis husbands and in-laws. However various sites of vulnerability exist in all marital forms including within a third marital arrangement here termed marrying ‘in the middle.’ The study findings contribute knowledge regarding the economic dimensions of women’s vulnerability in a developing country setting. The study findings are largely in line with both the imbalance theory of domestic violence and the emphasis on women’s fall-back position found within theories of household bargaining power.

Normal 0 14 false false false IT X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 This article examines the nexus between female genital mutilation (FGM) and theory of promiscuity among ever-married women in Oworonshoki community of Lagos State, Nigeria. To achieve the objectives of the study, a non-experimental research design was adopted using a cross-sectional survey research method. Findings of the study reveal that the practice of FGM is widespread in the study location. Specifically, 76.0 percent of the respondents were circumcised. Reasons adduced for the practice include reduction of female sexual urge and promiscuity (61.4%), beautification of female sexual organ (14.9%), avoidance of pre-marital sex (10.0%), and tradition/custom (3.7%). The study discovered a negative significant relationship between women’s FGM status and various sexual health indicators. There is also a negative significant relationship between women’s socio-economic status and their plan to circumcise their daughters in the future. Based on the findings of the study, there is a need for the state and non-state actors in Nigeria to redesign their strategies and enforce all existing legislations in order to eradicate the harmful traditional practices FGM among women in the study location. Lekan John OYEFARA, Senion Lecturer, Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Lagos, Akoka, Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria. E-mail: oyefara@gmail.com /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Tabella normale"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Tabella normale"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}

Normal 0 14 false false false IT X-NONE X-NONE Normal 0 14 false false false IT X-NONE X-NONE Normal 0 14 false false false IT X-NONE X-NONE Objectives: The study aimed at identifying and analysing existing prevalence data on female genital mutilation in 28 EU countries and to provide recommendations for an improved estimation of prevalence of FGM. Methods: The study included secondary data collection using a systematic web-based search in all EU Member States to collect existing prevalence estimates on FGM in all EU Member States. The methodologies used in the studies on prevalence data were analysed and discussed at an international expert meeting, in order to provide recommendations to improve prevalence data collection in the EU. Results: We identified no ongoing, systematic, representative surveys on FGM prevalence in all 28 countries. In 8 countries, we identified 13 prevalence studies and a number of critical issues with these studies. The paper proposes definitions of a baseline and an enhanced FGM prevalence estimate. A number of administrative records were equally identified which could act as a proxy indicator of prevalence and incidence of FGM and indicate whether states are adequately responding to the practice. Conclusion: Despite the potential of various administrative records to assist and enhance FGM data and prevalence across EU Member States, there remain considerable shortcomings and barriers. Considerable training will be needed for the professionals involved, enhanced data compilation systems, software and tools may be required and specific relevant codes or nomenclatures identified and developed to enhance FGM prevalence estimates. Els LEYE, Professor, Ghent University - International Centre for Reproductive Health, De Pintelaan UZP 114, 9000 Gent, Belgium. E-mail: els.leye@ugent.be . Sioban O’BRIEN GREEN, L ecturer and tutor , School of Applied Social Sciences, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland . E-mail: siobanog@hotmail.com . Catarina ARNAUT, Researcher, Yellow Window, Mechelsesteenweg 64/701, Belgium. E-mail: catarina.arnaut@yellowwindow.com . Lut MERGAERT, Research director, Yellow Window, Mechelsesteenweg 64/701, Belgium. E-mail: lut.mergaert@yellowwindow.com . /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Tabella normale"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Tabella normale"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Tabella normale"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}

The number of foreigners inItalyhas been steadily growing over the last decades. This trend is accompanied by a parallel increase of the number of new-borns who have foreign parents. The aim of the present study is to compare the access and the adequacy of antenatal care for both Italian and foreign women, by controlling for demographic and socio-economic characteristics. Our source is the Certificates of Healthcare at Delivery (2003). Three appropriate indicators of frequency and adequacy of antenatal care have been constructed: 1) time of first visit; 2) number of visits and 3) number of scans. The factors which influence Italian and foreign womens’ access to antenatal care have been identified by using multinomial logistic regression models, in which time of the first visit is the dependent variable. Regarding healthcare received during the pregnancy, we show that strong inequalities in terms of both promptness and level of care persist between Italian and foreign women. Foreign women, particularly those without residency,- experience a delay in their first interaction with antenatal care services. The results of the present study prompt us to question the effectiveness of the policies for providing information to foreign women. Francesca LARICCIA, Researcher, ISTAT, Rome, Italy. E-mail: la riccia@istat.it . Eleonora MUSSINO, Researcher, ISTAT, Rome, Italy. E-mail: eleonora.mussino@gmail.com . Antonella PINNELLI, Professor of Demography, Sapienza University of Rome. E-mail: pinnelli.antonella@gmail.com . Sabrina PRATI, Researcher, ISTAT, Rome, Italy. E-mail: prati@istat.it .

The collection of biomarker-based indicators of adult health is an important addition to socioeconomic surveys since they can provide valuable insights into the biological functions, and the complex causal pathways between socioeconomic environments and health outcomes. We document the collection of blood-plasma based biomarkers as a pilot project within the Malawi Longitudinal Study of Families and Health (MLSFH). Using the LabAnywhere system as a minimally-invasive approach previously not used in less-developed countries, we collected biomarkers of lipids, metabolic processes, organ function, and the immune system. Overall, only small proportions of the collected samples are above the upper limits of the normal clinical ranges as defined by western standards. The correlational patterns between the biomarkers are consistent with observations from developed countries and the comparison with other low-income populations shows remarkably similar age-specific patterns of the biomarkers despite differences in the mode of blood sampling. The present study confirms that the collection of biomarker-based indicators of adult health using the LabAnywhere system is feasible in rural sub-Saharan contexts and this approach provides an attractive alternative to the collection of dried blood spots (DBS) and venous blood samples. Iliana V. KOHLER, Researcher and Associate Director, Population Aging Research Center, and Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania, 3718 Locust Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. E-mail: iliana@pop.upenn.edu . Philip ANGLEWCZ, Assistant Professor, School of Public Health & Tropical Medicine and Department of Global Health System and Development, 1440 Canal St., Suite 2200, New Orleans, LA 70112-2737, USA. E-mail: panglewi@tulane.edu . Hans-Peter KOHLER, Frederick J.\ Warren Professor of Demography and Professor in Sociology, Department of Sociology and Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania, 3718 Locust Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6299, USA;. E-mail: hpkohler@pop.upenn.edu . John F. McCABE, Programmer/Data Analyst, Population Aging Research Center (PARC), University of Pennsylvania, 3718 Locust Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. E-mail: mccabef@pop.upenn.edu . Ben CHILIMA, Director, Community Health Sciences Unit, Ministry of Health and Population Community Health Sciences Unit, Private Bag 65, Lilonge, Malawi. E-mail: bchilima2@yahoo.com . Beth J. SOLDO, Distinguished Senior Scholar in Sociology, University of Pennsylvania, 3718 Locust Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. E-mail: bsoldo@pop.upen.edu

The book consist of a collection of articles focused on two major themes, Gender and Africa. It is a tribute to Thérèse Locoh, the brilliant Africanist demographer who first introduced and developed the topic of gender issues at the French National Institute of Demography, INED. The book interlaces all of the aspects of population studies: fertility and family, health and mortality, and internal and international migration. The various authors approach the subject through the lens of the analysis of social phenomena, and in particular the analysis of the social construction of gender with regard to its implications and consequences on the African continent. However, the content goes beyond these concepts to include discussions of population modeling, since the understanding of gender relations cannot be achieved without the creation of appropriate methods of measurement and analysis.

Are migrants replacing “missing” births? We discuss the actual importance of “replacement migration” in the context of the low and lowest-low fertility levels that emerged in Europe, and subsequently in South-East Asia, during the 1990s. After a short introduction on this much debated topic, we take an empirical perspective with a specific focus on birth-cohort replacement migration and working-age population replacement migration. We examine the actual dynamics of the absolute population numbers by birth cohort (independently of the place of birth) in some low-fertility, highly-developed countries, and we also look at aging indicators. Subsequently, we conduct a more detailed analysis of a prototypical lowest-low fertility country, Italy. We conclude that (some) replacement migration is indeed taking place but the extent varies according to the country. Francesco C. BILLARI, Full Professor of Demography, Carlo F. Dondena Centre for Research on Social Dynamics, Department of Policy Analysis and Public Management and Innocenzo Gasparini Institute for Economic Research, Bocconi University, Via Guglielmo Rontgen, n. 1, 20136-Milano - Italy. E-mail: francesco.billari@unibocconi.it . Gianpiero DALLA-ZUANNA, Full Professor of Demography, Department of Statistical Sciences, University of Padua, Via Cesare Battisti, n. 241, Padova, Italy. E-mail: gpdz@stat.unipd.it .

For nearly a century, Italy was a country of emigration. Due to the European economic crisis of 1973-74 and the subsequent closure of the borders in the traditional immigration countries, Italy became a final destination country of immigration, with currently about 5 million immigrants. Nowadays, the immigrant component tends to reduce the "excess" of elderly in the Italian population. The question whether immigration could be a solution to the prolonged low fertility levels, preventing or mitigating the aging of the population in the short, medium and long term, has generated broad scientific debate. Antonio GOLINI, Emeritus Professor, Sapienza University of Rome, Viale Regina Elena, n. 295, 00161-Roma, Italy. E-mail: antonio.golini@uniroma1.it . Eros MORETTI, Full Professor of Demography, Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Sociali, Polytechnic University of Marche, Ancona, Italy. E-mail: e.moretti@univpm.it .

There is a widening gap between life expectancy in the United States and other high-longevity countries (HLCs) and substantial disparities in survival across racial and ethnic groups in America. In this paper we analyze the contribution of age- and cause-specific mortality to life expectancy differences between the United States and other HLCs, and across American subpopulations. Using decomposition techniques and data for 2000-2007, we compare the US to 22 HLCs; American whites to HLCs and to blacks; and US Hispanics to non-Hispanic whites. US life expectancy is lower that of other HLCs by over 2 years, mostly due to deaths between ages 40 to 79. Neoplasms, circulatory diseases, and external causes are the main contributors to the differential, with infant mortality accounting for over 7%. The gap persists when the comparison is limited to U.S whites. At older ages, Americans’ survival is better than that of their international counterparts. White females live 4.52 years longer than black females, and 2.67 years less than Hispanic females on average. The Hispanic advantage becomes most apparent after age 60. The main causes contributing to the international gap also account for most of the domestic disparities. America’s low standing in international comparisons of life expectancy reflects internal inequalities along multiple dimensions including but not limited to race. Vladimir CANUDAS ROMO, Associated Professor, Department of Biostatistics, University of Copenhagen, Oester Farimagsgade 5, Copenhagen, Denmark. E-mail: vlca@sund.ku.dk . Department of Population, Family & Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N Wolfe Street, Room E4634, Baltimore MD 21205. E-mail: vcanudas@jhsph.edu Michal ENGELMAN, PhD, Department of Sociology, University of Chicago, 1126 East 59th Street, Chicago, Illinois 60637. E-mail: mengelman@uchicago.edu .