Concerns were raised by the British Jewish community over the weekend after The Guardian claimed that circumcision may be classed as a form of child abuse in the UK under new guidance for prosecutors.
The Guardian viewed a leaked draft document by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) on “honour-based abuse, forced marriages, and harmful practices," which allegedly classed circumcision as a potential crime alongside breast flattening, virginity testing, hymenoplasty, and exorcisms.
The draft CPS guidance referred to circumcision as a “painful and harmful practice [which] if carried out incorrectly or in inappropriate circumstances may be a form of child abuse or an offence against the person."
However, Jewish leaders told The Jerusalem Post on Monday that the guidance made it clear it was aimed at circumcision under inappropriate conditions, either by someone untrained, or under conditions with no sufficient control for infections. The guidance did not, however, indicate that circumcision, as of itself, will be classified as a form of child abuse in the UK.
"I think most of us would agree that if circumcision is carried out inappropriately, it could be a form of child abuse," Jonathan Arkush, former president of the Board of Deputies and co-chair of Milah UK, told the Post.
However, he explained that circumcisions within the UK Jewish community are regulated by detailed rules (including infection-control measures) and are performed only by trained professionals with parental consent.
The draft guidance seems to have been sparked by the case of Mohamed Abdisamad, a six-month-old Muslim boy who died due to an infection following a circumcision in 2023. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that between 2001 and 2024, there were 7 deaths of males under 18 where circumcision was mentioned in the cause of death text. There was no data on whether the circumcisions were religious or medical.
Arkush pointed out, however, that the coroner's report on Baby Abdisamad has not yet been released, so no one knows the full circumstances of what happened.
Muslim, Jewish communities will continue to have right to perform circumcisions
Arkush is set to meet with CPS next week, but he told the Post he is "fully confident that it will redraft the guidance" and also that there is "absolutely no intention to categorize circumcision in itself as a harmful procedure, let alone amounting to some sort of criminal child abuse."
"Muslim and Jewish communities will continue to have the right to carry out the traditions when it comes to circumcisions," he said.
While Muslims in the UK do not have an initiation society for circumcisions, the Jewish community does (BRIS), and it is the oldest Jewish body in Britain, having been established in 1745.
"Everything we do is to ensure the highest possible standards in carrying out brit milah, our whole way of life as Jews is aimed at avoiding harm," he said.
Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain - Convenor of the Rabbinic Court of Great Britain -
told the Post that he would welcome criminalizing circumcision if it were performed by an unqualified person, "just as would be the case if someone unqualified conducted any other surgical operation," but that "leaping from that to banning the practice altogether is not justified."
"Given that it is a long-standing and important tradition amongst Jews, Muslim and various other cultures, the best way forward is to only permit circumcision if it is practised by someone specifically qualified for it and who belongs to a nationally accredited scheme. This would involve compulsory training, monitoring all cases, and producing annual reports," he added.
Rabbi Romain said he would support the creation of a national scheme run by the government that provides accreditation for circumcisers of both Jewish and Muslim faiths to ensure the process is regulated.
However, like Arkush, Rabbi Romain assured that the circumcision procedure in the UK is well-regulated and that every effort is made to prevent infection. He pointed out that all mohelim within Progressive Judaism have to be either a doctor or a surgeon.
Nevertheless, he agreed to stamp out unregulated and rogue procedures.
"Such a step is vital if we value both the safety of children and the integrity of faith backgrounds, and should be implemented as soon as possible. It is time to clamp down on rogue practitioners who have been tolerated for far too long."