ARC Executive Director Steven Svoboda is speaking at the upcoming 2026 Intact Global Conference in Los Angeles from April 17-19, 2026. More information can be obtained at https://www.intactglobal.org/events/2026-intact-global-conference.

Steven’s talk is titled, “Circumcision/FGM Gender Equity” and will explore:

  1. Recent developments as the world starts to give greater recognition (amidst resistance in some quarters) to the concept of protecting all children’s genital autonomy and bodily autonomy.
  2. As a specific example, I will talk about a subject of a recent article of mine published in the Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights and Social Justice (https://www.arclaw.org/wp-content/uploads/Svoboda-Protection-of-Male-and-Female-Sexed-Children-From-Genital-Cutting-Making-Sense-of-Recent-Legal-Developments-CJERSJ-2025.pdf) regarding two cases decided sixteen years apart by the same US judge, Bernard Friedman, one involving FGC and the other, in which I co-represented the clients, involving MGC. These two cases exemplify the stark contrast in how genital cutting is treated depending on the sex of the person being cut.
  3. Another article I submitted on March 28, 2026 to the Culture, Health and Sexuality journal addresses the “Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision” (VMMC) program in Africa. My research turned up several African scholars who agree that the current analytical divide is unsustainable between the acceptance of, on the one hand, both MGC and “cosmetic female genital surgeries” performed in the Global North, and on the other hand, the utter drive for eradication of FGC, which of course we fully support. I will examine relevant history of the medical system’s past horrific mistreatment of Africans and African-Americans, as well as the early development of medicalized MGC, both of which throw interesting lights on MGC and VMMC.

We look forward to seeing everyone who attends in person in two weeks!