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"
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.
Latest updates
NSS criticises EU leaders’ unqualified backing for religious rituals
Posted: Tue, 29 May 2018 18:03
The National Secular Society has criticised two senior EU politicians after they said they would oppose restrictions on rituals such as genital cutting and religious animal slaughter.
According to Arutz Sheva, the president of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani called for the preservation of "the religious identity of Europe's citizens" during a speech at a synagogue in Brussels last week.
At the same event Frans Timmermans, the first vice-president of the European Commission, said the commission would "not tolerate" legislation which would limit kosher slaughter or circumcision.
Tajani said the European Parliament had "brought discussion of religion back to the political discourse" and would "protect religious freedom".
"Europe will not achieve integration and unity among its citizens as long as it limits or bans the religious community from fulfilling its religious commandments, such as circumcision and kosher slaughter.
"Only by protecting their rights and preserving their identities will every citizen have personal security, with the unity and equality which lead to tranquil lives. This is what Europe is based on."
Timmermans said the commission was "more determined than ever to fight for the undisturbed continuation of Jewish tradition in Europe".
"We cannot act indifferently towards the leaders and commandments of religion.
"I ask you again to inform us of any information from your communities on the subject of systematic verbal incitement in European Union member countries. We will not tolerate any legislation or legal initiatives against religious laws, including kosher slaughter and circumcision, which would limit the religious rights of Europe's citizens."
Both men were awarded prizes for making a "unique contribution to the protection of religious rights, and their consistent and determined fight against anti-Semitism" at the event. Both made reference to the Holocaust during their speeches.
NSS spokesperson Chris Sloggett said the comments "appear to suggest religious freedom should be an unqualified right which belongs only to some".
"If laws are to achieve their stated aims they must apply to all citizens in the relevant jurisdictions. Giving special exemptions to the most assertive within religious communities is often the path of least resistance but it undermines legitimate efforts to protect human – and animal – rights.
"It's particularly alarming that speeches which focused on the horror of anti-Semitism and the Holocaust should stray into this kind of territory. It's not only utterly erroneous to conflate those who argue that children deserve bodily integrity or animals should be treated humanely with those who have persecuted Jewish people for centuries. It actively undermines efforts to tackle anti-Semitism."
The NSS campaigns for a gender-neutral age of consent for non-therapeutic genital cutting. In recent months we've called on the government to follow the lead of lawmakers in Iceland who proposed a law along these lines.
We also campaign for an end to the religious exemption from animal welfare laws that allows for animals to be slaughtered without prior stunning in the UK. Last year we welcomed a move in Belgium's Walloon region to ban non-stun slaughter of animals.
Image of Antonio Tajani: © European People's Party, via Flickr [CC BY 2.0]
Image of Frans Timmermans: © Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken, via Wikimedia Commons [CC BY-SA 2.0]
Danish bid to create age of consent for genital cutting set to fail
Posted: Wed, 25 Apr 2018 16:57
An attempt to outlaw the cutting of healthy children's genitals in Denmark is set to fail, despite the opinions of children's rights activists and medical experts.
On Tuesday the Liberal Party (Venstre) announced that it would oppose a proposal to introduce a gender-neutral age of consent of 18 for circumcision unless it is medically necessary. Venstre currently leads the ruling coalition in Denmark.
Lena Nyhus, the chair of pressure group Intact Denmark, launched the proposal as a citizens' initiative in January. This tool allows people to put items of interest on the parliamentary agenda if they can gain the support of 50,000 people within 180 days.
By this Wednesday afternoon Nyhus's petition had 44,932 signatures.
It says society has a "special obligation to protect children's fundamental rights until they reach an age and maturity where they can take over this responsibility themselves".
It adds that "all children under the age of 18 regardless of sex, cultural background or religious convictions" should "have the same legal requirements for bodily integrity and autonomy".
When she launched the petition Nyhus said: "If people want to let themselves be circumcised then they should have the opportunity to make that choice as an adult. Otherwise, they ought to be allowed to grow up with their body intact."
The two junior members of the ruling coalition, the Liberal Alliance and the Conservative Party, have said their MPs will be given a free vote on the issue. The Socialist People's Party (SF) is the only one requiring its MPs to vote in favour of the proposal.
Earlier this month SF health spokesperson Kirsten Normann Andersen said the issue was "very simple".
"We had no problems deciding to forbid female circumcision, we had no problem scrapping the right for parents to smack children, and now it's time to get to grips with this issue."
A spokesperson for Venstre, Jakob Ellemann-Jensen, told the Berlingske newspaper the issue had split the party. "Many have veered both for and against. There are really a lot of arguments both for and against, and many among us held different views."
Stephen Evans, the National Secular Society's CEO, said the latest developments were "frustrating" but added that it was "encouraging to see growing pressure for action to protect the right of children to grow up with intact bodies".
"There are two clear reasons why action on forced genital cutting is needed. Firstly there is a clear medical consensus that ritual infant circumcision is harmful. And secondly children must be given the chance to decide what to do with their own bodies when they are old enough to do so.
"It's frustrating to see politicians giving in to religious groups' scaremongering, but Intact Denmark has made a compelling argument which will resonate in its own country and many others. Politicians around the world should take note of it."
Earlier this month an influential children's rights group strongly criticised the ritual circumcision of boys in an official report. The Child Rights International Network said the practice "goes against medical ethics" and was a "violation of bodily integrity" which "unnecessarily" exposes children to risks.
In 2016 the Danish Medical Association said circumcision should only be performed with "informed consent". The Royal Dutch Medical Society, the Council of Europe and the Nordic children's ombudsmen are also among those to recommend discouraging the practice in recent years.
Opposition to restrictions is mainly driven by concern about Jewish and Muslim religious sensitivities. Earlier this month the Jewish group Mosaiske claimed the Danish proposal "threatens the right of religious minorities to exist on a par with their fellow citizens".
The Danish Health and Medicines Authority has recently estimated that between 1,000 and 2,000 boys are subject to forced genital cutting in Denmark each year, mainly from Jewish and Muslim backgrounds.
In 2014 an opinion poll by Danish newspaper Metroxpress found that close to three-quarters of Danes supported measures to ban the ritual circumcision of boys.
Meanwhile this week religious leaders have stepped up their lobbying of the authorities in Iceland to resist a similar measure. Jonathan Arkush, the president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, told the JC he was "tentatively optimistic" that a ban on the circumcision of boys for non-medical reasons may not pass after visiting officials in Reykjavik.
