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Showing posts with label religious and cultural genital cutting.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label religious and cultural genital cutting.. Show all posts
National Secular Society ✒ has called for an end to all forms of non-consensual religious genital cutting at the Worldwide Day of Genital Autonomy.

In a speech on Sunday, NSS campaigns officer Dr Alejandro Sanchez urged the government to "ensure that no one is subjected to unnecessary medical or surgical treatment during childhood", as recommended by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.

The "bodily integrity, autonomy and self-determination" of children must be protected, he added.

The Worldwide Day of Genital Autonomy (WWDOGA) is held in Cologne each year to commemorate the verdict of a local court in 2012, which held that non-therapeutic circumcision of boys constituted grievous bodily harm and was illegal under German law.

The court ruled that the "fundamental right of the child to bodily integrity outweighed the fundamental rights of the parents". Waiting until the child was capable of making their own decision about circumcision did not compromise the religious freedom of parents, it added.

Then-chancellor Angela Merkel said the decision to protect the bodily integrity of children risked Germany becoming "a laughing stock". The German parliament subsequently brought in new legislation to legalise circumcision.

Continue reading @ National Secular Society.

NSS Speaks Out At Pro-Genital Autonomy Event

National Secular Society ✒ Experts made the case for protecting all children from religious and cultural genital cutting at a National Secular Society online event last week.


On Wednesday 8th June, representatives from the International NGO Council on Genital Autonomy (INGOCGA) led an online discussion on their new report, supported by the NSS, which calls on the United Nations to take greater steps to eliminate all forms of non-consensual, non-therapeutic genital cutting.

Every year, millions of children are forcibly subjected to permanent and painful cutting of their genitals for religious or cultural reasons.

While increasing numbers of countries give girls legal protection from all forms of non-therapeutic genital cutting (female genital mutilation), not a single country affords similar protections to boys.

Secular Medical Forum chair Dr Antony Lempert and Canadian government medical adjudication consultant Kira Antinuk explained why forced genital cutting is a violation of children's fundamental rights, including freedom of religion or belief, and dispelled some of the myths surrounding FGM and male circumcision. They also shared ideas on what needs to happen to ensure all children, whatever their sex or cultural background, are given equal rights to make decisions about their bodies for themselves.

You can watch the video of the discussion here.

Continue reading @ National Secular Society.

Religious And Cultural Genital Cutting Challenged At NSS Event

National Secular Society ✒ has expressed shock that female genital mutilation has been suspected at an unregistered school.


Police investigated the school in Birmingham on Tuesday after Ofsted inspectors raised concerns about "possible illegal practices".

The inspectors found a locked room with a bed and medical equipment at the unregistered school, according to Mail Online. Police said two men had been arrested on suspicion of being involved in female genital mutilation.

A third man was arrested yesterday as part of the investigation. All three men have been bailed with "strict conditions".

Female genital mutilation (FGM)

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a procedure where the female genitals are deliberately cut for non-medical reasons. Some Muslims consider it a religious requirement.

All forms of FGM are illegal in the UK.

A 2015 study estimated that around 60,000 girls aged 0-14 were born in England and Wales to mothers who had undergone FGM. It also found that around 10,000 girls aged under 15 who have migrated to England and Wales are likely to have undergone FGM.

Unregistered schools

It is illegal to run a full-time school without registering it with the Department for Education.

Continue reading @ National Secular Society.

Arrests Made At Unregistered School Over FGM Concerns

National Secular Society ✒ An international council of experts has called on the United Nations to protect all children from religious and cultural genital cutting.


In a report supported by the National Secular Society, the International NGO Council on Genital Autonomy (INGOCGA) has called on the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) to work towards "full, equal protection of all minors" from non-therapeutic genital cutting until they are able to make their own decisions about their bodies.

Both female genital cutting (FGM) and male circumcision are frequently performed for religious reasons.

The report said legal measures against genital cutting upon children have "not happened uniformly" and leave large populations of children "wholly unprotected". While it is generally accepted in legislation that genital cutting of girls is unacceptable in all circumstances, circumcision of male children is "almost wholly unrestrained", it said.

The report said the view that genital cutting of a child is a legitimate exercise of parents' religious freedom is a "misconception", as it violates children's own rights to bodily autonomy and freedom to choose a religion or belief identity. It also said the right to manifest beliefs is qualified, and should be restricted if it violates the rights and freedoms of another person.

Continue reading @ National Secular Society

Protect All Children From Genital Cutting, International NGO Urges

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