End forced genital cutting

End forced genital cutting

Page 15 of 29: No child should be subjected to unnecessary genital cutting.

We are committed to ending all forms of forced non-therapeutic genital cutting.

This includes female genital mutilation (FGM) and ritual circumcision of boys.

A child's right to bodily autonomy must not be overridden by other people's religious or cultural beliefs.

The National Secular Society supports a person's most fundamental right to grow up with an intact body and to make their own choices about permanent bodily modifications.

All forms of forced cutting on children's genitals breach basic child rights and safeguarding guidance.

Several communities have genital cutting traditions, often rooted in religious beliefs. But children, and particularly babies and young infants, are incapable of giving consent to such medically unnecessary, harmful, painful and permanent procedures.

Sometimes health benefits for non-therapeutic genital cutting are claimed despite the evidence to the contrary. All forms of forced genital cutting risk serious emotional, sexual, and physical harm – including death.

Child safeguarding must always be prioritised above the desire of adults to express their belief through forced cutting of children's genitals.

Female genital mutilation (FGM)

We are committed to the eradication of forced genital cutting of girls and women known as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in all its forms.

There are thought to be well over 100,000 women and girls affected by FGM living in the UK. We work with like-minded organisations to protect girls from the harm of forced genital cutting.

FGM practices vary. Some forms involve a pinprick or the removal of a small amount of tissue from the clitoris. Other forms include complete removal of the clitoris and labia, and stitching the vulva closed. Communities which practice FGM often cite religion as a motivation.

All forms of FGM are child abuse and are rightly illegal in the UK. But some British girls are still unprotected. Some have been sent abroad to undergo the procedure and others are having it performed secretly in this country.

There have been only two successful prosecutions for FGM since it was banned in 1985. We are concerned that fear of upsetting cultural and religious sensitivities is preventing authorities from tackling FGM effectively.

"...a right specifically for African families who want to carry on their tradition whilst living in this country"

Defeated 1993 Brent Council motion on making FGM available on the NHS. At the time councillors opposing the motion were abused and accused of racism and cultural insensitivity.

As with all forms of forced genital cutting, those who speak out against FGM are often accused of disrespecting their parents or cultural heritage, and of over-dramatising a 'minor' procedure that others 'don't complain about'. Together with the perceived humiliation of speaking about one's own genitals, these factors combine to ensure that many sufferers are reluctant to speak out.

Ending FGM requires sustained civil society action to change attitudes and inform girls of their rights.

Male circumcision

While all forms of FGM are rightfully banned, non-therapeutic circumcision of boys is permitted in UK law.

The foreskin is a normal body part with physical, sexual and immunological functions. Removing it from non-consenting children has been associated with various physical and psychological difficulties. These are likely to be greatly under-reported because people who have experienced sexual harm are often reluctant to reveal it as societal dismissal or stigmatisation may compound the harm.

Circumcision is excruciatingly painful. When performed on babies, little to no anaesthesia is used. Even when performed under anaesthesia on older children, the recovery entails weeks of pain and discomfort.

The procedure is also dangerous. Between 1988 and 2014, there were 22,000 harms recorded by the NHS resulting from circumcision. They included scarring and full penis amputation. In 2011, nearly a dozen infant boys were treated for life-threatening haemorrhage, shock or sepsis as a result of circumcision at a single children's hospital in Birmingham. At least three babies have bled to death from circumcision in the UK since 2009: Celian Noumbiwe, Angelo Ofori-Mintah, and Goodluck Caubergs.

Between 2012 and 2022, the General Medical Council (GMC) dealt with 39 complaints relating to 30 doctors regarding circumcisions. The complaints include incidents in which children's penises were left deformed and babies required blood transfusions.

Any claims of marginal health benefits of circumcision are extremely contested. No national medical, paediatric, surgical or urological society recommends routine circumcision of all boys as a health intervention. There is now growing concern among doctors that existing ethical principles of non-therapeutic childhood surgery should no longer include an exception for non-therapeutic circumcision.

62% of Brits would support a law prohibiting the circumcision of children for non-medical reasons. Only 13% would oppose it.

There is very limited regulation of non-therapeutic circumcision in the UK. We do not know how many such procedures are performed annually or the degree of harm, as there is no requirement for any follow up or audit and the boys themselves are too young to complain.

It is now being recognised more widely that non-therapeutic religious and cultural circumcision is a breach of children's rights. We want to see the same protections for girls' bodily autonomy extended to boys.

Take action!

1. Write to your MP

Ask your MP to support an end to non-consensual religious genital cutting

2. Share your story

Tell us why you support this campaign, and how you are personally affected by the issue. You can also let us know if you would like assistance with a particular issue.

3. Join the National Secular Society

Become a member of the National Secular Society today! Together, we can separate religion and state for greater freedom and fairness.

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Individual rights and autonomy key themes at NSS healthcare event

Individual rights and autonomy key themes at NSS healthcare event

Posted: Thu, 1 Nov 2018 14:31

Speakers have called for individual rights and bodily autonomy to take priority over religious concerns in healthcare policy at a major National Secular Society conference on the issue.

The one-day Healthcare & Secularism Conference, which took place on Saturday at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Birmingham, gave participants the opportunity to discuss secularism's role in healthcare and medicine.

Academics and experts in medicine, law and ethics addressed the conference, which tackled issues including conscientious objection, 'gay conversion therapy', ritual genital cutting, sexual health rights and assisted dying.

Dr Antony Lempert, chair of the Secular Medical Forum and one of the event's chief organisers, opened the conference by saying secularism empowers informed patients to make decisions that are right for them. He added that the "harmful imposition" of other people's beliefs in healthcare is causing "far too many" people to suffer.

Michael Thomson, a professor of health law, spoke about reclaiming conscience in healthcare. He said the narrative on religious freedom has been oversimplified, especially in the field of medicine.

Michael talked about the development of abortion law in particular. He said it was "quite wrong" for any doctor to put personal views before the care of a patient, and personal objections should be "overruled by professional obligation". He warned that a bill on conscientious objection tabled in January would expand the scope of practices that clinicians can refuse to provide, reducing patients' access to certain treatments.

Jayne Ozanne, a member of the Church of England's general synod who works with religious organisations around the world to eliminate discrimination based on sexuality or gender, spoke about 'gay conversion therapy' (GCT). Jayne, a gay Evangelical, referred to her own experiences of GCT and the subsequent campaigning she has done to end the practice.

Jayne said many religious people may undergo GCT because they believe being LGBT is sinful and individuals who come out as LGBT in religious communities put themselves in a position of "great vulnerability".

She added that GCT does not just involve psychological abuse but can include physical and sexual violence. Studies have found that GCT can result in self-harm, suicide attempts and problems with relationships and sexual functioning, and is ineffective in changing same-sex attraction.

The conference also focused on the issue of religiously-motivated genital cutting of children, beginning with a talk on male circumcision and the law with James Chegwidden, an Old Square Chambers barrister. He said infant ritual circumcision remains an "anomaly" with no legal justification in any field of law, even though society no longer tends to regard children as the property of their parents.

James argued that non-consensual circumcision violates article nine of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. He said "imposing one's religion on another is precisely what the article is designed to prevent".

Brian Earp, a cross-disciplinary research fellow at Yale and Oxford, warned of an "imminent collision course" in law and policy regarding different ethical standards for female, male and intersex forms of genital cutting.

He said proponents of male infant circumcision have found support among those promoting female genital mutilation (FGM). All forms of FGM are banned under UK and US laws but male circumcision is not, despite the fact relatively 'minor' forms of FGM are less invasive than male circumcision.

Brian argued that biological sex should not determine the level of protection children have to intact genitalia and that all children should be entitled to genital autonomy.

Ann Furedi, chief executive of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, spoke on standing up to opponents of abortion. She said it was wrong to criminalise women for seeking abortions or doctors for performing them, adding that recent changes to abortion law have been "phenomenal". She encouraged advocates of choice to embrace free speech to persuade the public of their position.

She argued that abortion clinic 'buffer zones' are justified because they prevent anti-abortionists stopping women from accessing abortion services. But she added that it is worth engaging with protestors outside these zones, because "the best way we can stand up to our opponents is to engage them and defeat them in argument".

The final two talks examined assisted dying. Dr Jacky Davis of Healthcare Professionals for Assisted Dying (HPAD) told the audience that 100m people now have access to assisted dying and asked why people in the UK do not.

She advocated the "Oregon law", which allows terminally ill people of sound mind and fixed purpose to receive lethal medication, as a good model for assisted dying in the UK.

Jacky said those opposing assisted dying are often influential leaders of various religious groups, but their views often don't match many of those they claim to represent. She said a group called the Christian Medical Fellowship has been particularly influential in persuading the British Medical Association (BMA) to resist the legalisation of assisted dying. HPAD has called for BMA members to be surveyed on their views on assisted dying.

The final speaker, NSS honorary associate and former chairman of the Voluntary Euthanasia Society Dr Michael Irwin, agreed with many of Jacky's points but offered alternative approaches. He said there would be a better chance of changing the law surrounding assisted dying if we were not limited to the Oregon model and the right to die were extended to others, such as those with serious degenerative diseases.

Michael argued that assisted dying is simply another way of saying "good palliative care" and is not an alternative to palliative care as opponents often argue.

The speakers also responded to audience questions after their talks.

After the event Dr Lempert thanked those who attended and described the quality of the speakers as "outstanding".

"Coming from different disciplines, backgrounds and beliefs, all speakers shared a common understanding of the central importance of caring properly for patients and for allowing patients to make their own decisions in healthcare. The theme of autonomy – a patient's right to choose for themselves what happens to their own body – ran through each of the talks.

"In an environment of shared values, this conference explored some of the major difficulties faced by some people when other people's beliefs, values and treatments are imposed on them in a variety of ways from birth through to death.

"The shared understanding of autonomy helps to show the way towards a truly secular healthcare system which would protect all patients by championing their rights to be fully informed of the available treatment options and to choose the one that's right for them."

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Photo © Stephen Knight.

Man arrested over alleged circumcision assaults

Man arrested over alleged circumcision assaults

Posted: Mon, 9 Jul 2018 14:57

Police in Oxfordshire are appealing for information regarding a man arrested on suspicion of physically assaulting boys in connection to circumcision.

Mohammad Siddiqui, 52, was arrested on July 3 on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm to boys who were circumcised in their own homes in Banbury in Oxfordshire and Bristol.

Siddiqui has since been released from custody but remains under investigation.

Hampshire Constabulary are leading the joint investigation with Thames Valley Police into the alleged assaults.

Detectives have called for any parents or guardians of boys circumcised, or healthcare workers who have concerns about procedures or aftercare to come forward.

DCI Fiona Bitters of Hampshire police, said: "This is a large investigation and we are already speaking to a number of people in relation to these allegations, however we would like to speak to anyone who may have information that can help us with our investigation or is concerned about a procedure which has taken place privately since 2015.

"We are asking parents or guardians of boys circumcised, or healthcare workers, who have concerns about the procedure, the aftercare provided, or the recovery to come forward.

"We are not investigating the practice of circumcision. We are investigating if any criminality took place relating to an individual's actions when undertaking this procedure or the aftercare provided."

An address in Birmingham has been searched as part of the investigation.

It is unclear from reports if Siddiqui is the same individual as a doctor of the same name who was struck off in 2015 for performing "botched and unhygienic" circumcisions on four babies in Southampton, Bath, Birmingham and Reading.

NHS paediatrician Dr Mohammed Siddiqui performed the non-therapeutic ritual circumcisions during a period spanning June 2012 to November 2013.

Siddiqui, who worked at University Hospital Southampton, carried out the operations in the parents' homes as an additional source of income outside the NHS.

Parents claimed Siddiqui did not wash his hands prior to the procedures, did not wear surgical gloves, failed to carry out proper examinations and did not have proper resuscitation equipment. He carried surgical materials in plastic carrier bags and used baby wipes during the procedures.

One baby suffered a seizure in response to a local anaesthetic but Siddiqui failed to act immediately and call an ambulance. The baby suffered two further seizures in hospital.

The parents of a second baby said Siddiqui accused them of "telling lies" when they phoned him because their baby was still in pain.

In a third incident, a baby began screaming in agony when the anaesthetic wore off half way through the procedure, but Siddiqui carried on, saying: "I didn't need to stop because the child was already crying."

He botched a circumcision on a fourth boy to such a degree that he had to carry out corrective surgery on the same child the following day.

An investigation by the General Medical Council revealed that Siddiqui had failed to secure valid insurance for each procedure and failed to register his circumcision service with the Care Quality Commission.

Following a three-week hearing at the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service in Manchester, 69 separate allegations against Siddiqui were found proved and he was branded a risk to patients.

Panel Chairman John Donnelly said: ''His misconduct was both a particularly serious departure and reckless disregard of good medical practise and patient safety. Some of his behaviour as previously identified, involved breaches of very basic mandatory medical principles."

Siddiqui was suspended from University Hospital Southampton and subsequently resigned from the NHS. He continued to practice his private circumcision service.

In 2013 Consultant surgeon Feilim Murphy, secretary of the British Association of Paediatric Urologists, told BBC Radio 5live Investigates: "The biggest issue is there are a number of children who are circumcised by people who are not experienced and don't understand what is required, and there can be significant complications with that."

He added: "Unfortunately children have died in the last number of years in Britain and Ireland from circumcision-related complications."

The practice of circumcision came under the spotlight earlier this year when Icelandic lawmakers proposed a bill to prohibit circumcision without consent, calling it a violation of children's human rights.

The National Secular Society has long been committed to ending all forms of forced genital cutting.

Dr Antony Lempert of the NSS's Secular Medical Forum, commented:

"The situation in the UK is perverse. Ritual circumcision when performed by a registered doctor must be performed to the same high standards expected of all doctors. However, lay circumcisers are not held to the same standards which defies explanation considering the known dangers and the obvious risk of surgery performed outside a clinical environment with no medical supervision or aftercare.

"There is every reason to expect all surgery to be performed in registered surgical premises by healthcare professionals for a clear medical benefit or with the consent of the person whose body it is. By these standards it is clear that not only Mohammad Siddiqui but all lay circumcisers should no longer be allowed to operate. Instead all children must be protected from the surgical assignation on their genitals of their parents' beliefs whoever is performing the surgery."

Anyone with information on the current investigation led by Hampshire Constabulary can report using the HOLMES National Police Portal https://mipp.police.uk/operation/826 . If this is not possible you can call 101 and ask for Hampshire Constabulary quoting Operation Jetson. Alternatively you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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