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.