Awareness of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Law and its Association with Female Genital Mutilation Prevalence among Youths in Oyigbo, Rivers State

Background: The study assessed the “awareness of violence against persons prohibition (VAPP) law and its association with prevalence of female genital mutilation among youths in Oyigbo, Rivers State, Nigeria. Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 496 youths (15-24) years old. It employed a multistage sampling technique. Data was collected via a semi-structured interviewer-administered questionnaire. Data analysis was done with SPSS version 27, using Pearson’s Chi-square test for statistical associations. Results: The median age is 23 years, females; 387 (78.0 %) and 330 (66.5%) had secondary education. The awareness about female genital mutilation was 164 (33.1%), while the prevalence of FGC among female youths was 95 (24.5%), and 109 (22.0%) among all respondents. Only 88 (17.7%) were aware of the VAPP law. Age (χ2 = 12.97; p < 0.001), occupation (χ2 = 9.82; p < 0.019), marital status (χ2 = 32.27; p < 0.001) awareness of FGC (χ2 = 12.26; p < 0.001), and awareness of male circumcision (χ2 = 40.73; p < 0.001) were significantly associated with female genital cutting (FGC). Specifically, those who were married were 5.2 times more likely to have had FGC compared to those who were single (aOR=5.2, 95% CI: 1.0-27.4, p=0.050), additionally, those who were aware of female circumcision were less likely to have had FGC (aOR=0.32, 95% CI: 0.10-0.12, p=0.001). Conclusion: The awareness of the VAPP law is low, and the prevalence of FGC remains high. There is a need to scale up public health awareness and sensitistion efforts to improve preventive measures against FGC.