APPLICATION OF GEOGRAPHICALLY WEIGHTED REGRESSION TO SPATIALLY VARYING RELATIONSHIP AMONG DETERMINANTS OF FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION

Abstract

The practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) has raised concern considered universally. Massive inequality in demographic and socioeconomic status of the Nigerian populace together with marked differences in cultural values have resulted in lopsided patterns of most health indicators based on geographical location. This study examines the spatially varying relationships of determinants of FGM in Nigeria. Data were from the geo-referenced 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey. The objectives were to estimate the spatially varying relationship among demographic and socio-economic variables that affect female cutting and establish the varying relationship among the perception towards the continuity of female circumcision across states in Nigeria using geographically weighted regression. The results reveal that there are differentials across space in the contributions of all variables examined. We established that women in the category of ever-married were most likely to be circumcised. Access to newspaper consistently shows lower effects on the practice of FGM but is not so with radio and television. Women of higher educational level and from higher wealth index tended not to support continuation of FGM everywhere in the country. The findings emphasize the need for local approaches in tackling the determinant of FGM across location in Nigeria.