Update, March 5th, 2026:
In the new official guidance for criminal prosecutors, the violent amputation of part of a healthy boy’s genitals has been classed as “…a potentially harmful practice…” but not as “…possible child abuse…”.
January 12th, 2026:
The UK newspaper The Guardian reports that England’s Crown Prosecution Service is preparing to recognize childhood circumcision as a crime.
According to the article, a CPS draft document states that “…this can be a painful and harmful practice, if carried out incorrectly or in inappropriate circumstances. It may be a form of child abuse or an offence against the person…”
While a more accurate version would of course replace “can be” (and “may be”) with “is”, and would omit the clause which suggests that there is a correct method or appropriate situation in which to inflict violence against a child’s genitals, we can take heart that this is currently only a draft document, and that perhaps the final version will at last give British prosecutors the power to protect their most vulnerable subjects.