The practice of circumcision could be considered a form of child abuse in some cases according to revised guidance for prosecutors.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has drafted a document on “honour-based abuse, forced marriages, and harmful practices” that includes circumcision in a list of practices with potentially criminal implications like breast flattening or virginity testing, The Guardian reports.
“To suggest that circumcision is in itself a harmful practice, is deeply pejorative and misplaced,” Jonathan Arkush, co-chair of Milah UK, which protects the Jewish community’s observation of religious circumcision, told the paper.
“Any procedure that is carried out inappropriately or without proper controls, including piercing a child’s ears, could be a harmful practice and a possible case of child abuse.”
While Arkush acknowledged that circumcision could constitute child abuse if performed wrongly, he argued that the Jewish community has strict standards in place to prevent that from happening.
“The incidence of complications in circumcision performed in the Jewish community is vanishingly rare,” he said. “Circumcision is a core part of our identity. I have never met any Jewish man who thinks they’ve been harmed by circumcision.”
A spokesperson for the CPS said the new guidance would undergo extensive review before being finalised.
“We absolutely recognise that for many, male circumcision is a safe and celebrated tradition,” they told The Guardian. “However, while circumcision is legal, we have recently prosecuted cases where significant harm and distress has been caused to victims where this procedure has been carried out improperly and in unsafe circumstances.”
