Vaginal douching and health risks among young women

Objective

Vaginal douching is practiced by women for various reasons. Studies have shown that this practice can upset the normal vaginal flora, increasing susceptibility to certain sexually transmitted diseases (STIs). This study aimed to assess the health risks associated with this practice among women aged 15-54 years in a densely populated community in Kumasi, the second capital city of Ghana.

Methods

A cross-sectional survey was conducted to gather data on the prevalence of vaginal douching among young women and their beliefs, motivations, and knowledge about the practice. A structured questionnaire was used in recruiting participants. One-hundred and fifteen structured questionnaires were administered to women aged between 15 and 54 after their consent was sought.

Results

The study established that more than half of the participants (69.6%) engaged in douching with a midpoint of 19.5. The study indicated no significant difference between the age of participants and douching (p < 0.93). However, there was an indication of a significant association between educational status, marital status, and perception in relation to douching (p < 0.003, 0.0015, and 0.00, respectively), which also influenced the frequency of douching and contraction of STIs.

Conclusion

Most women in the study community recruited, regardless of their educational and marital status, believed that douching is necessary and considered part of feminine hygiene practices. Practicing douching may lead to most health complications including pelvic inflammatory disease and infertility which must be given serious attention by researchers, health personnel, and various women's groups.

Navigating violence and risk: A critical discourse analysis of blind women's portrayals of self-protective measures

Women with disabilities experience high rates of violence and harassment, yet meaningful violence prevention interventions providing the opportunity to learn how to be active agents in their own self-protection are virtually non-existent. To understand why, we draw on insights from feminist disability studies to explore some of the unexamined assumptions and discourses in gender-based violence prevention research. We then apply a feminist critical discourse analysis to focus groups with blind and partially sighted women to explore their talk about violence and self-defence to understand how they portray self-protective measures, and what practices those portrayals engender. We discerned three portrayals: self-protective measures as necessary against strangers, a delimited responsibility, and an effective means to an end. These portrayals and their subsequent practices demonstrate how the participants navigate violence while living with vision loss. We also consider the implications of our analysis for future directions in gendered violence prevention research.