The National Secular Society has reported a charity which facilitates unanaesthetised ritual circumcisions of boys to the regulator.
The Initiation Society, which facilitates “the initiation of male Jewish children into the Covenant of Abraham”, is registered under the charitable purpose ‘the advancement of religion’.
It trains and accredits ritual circumcisers, also known as mohelim in Judaism.
An FAQ on the charity’s website includes the question: “Are babies anaesthetised during a Bris?”. Bris refers to the Jewish “covenant of circumcision”.
The answer states: “Babies are generally not anaesthetised during a Bris.” [emphasis original]
Charities are legally required to act for the public benefit.
Unanaesthetised circumcision “gratuitous infliction of pain”
The NSS and 15 Square, a charity which supports men with circumcision related issues, also called for a review of the Initiation Society’s charitable status in a joint letter to Charity Commission chief executive David Holdsworth.
The letter said unanaesthetised circumcisions constitute a “gratuitous infliction of pain”, contradict medical guidance, and are of “questionable legality”. A charity which facilitates them cannot be acting for the public benefit, it added.
In the trial of Mohammad Siddiqui earlier this year, King’s Counsel for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said “cutting into a child’s penis without any anaesthetic” was “gratuitous infliction of pain” and “a deliberate disregard” of child welfare.
Siddiqui was jailed in January for five years for child cruelty and actual bodily harm related to ritual circumcision, among other crimes.
Performing ritual circumcision of boys without anaesthesia contradicts advice from the Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCA), the General Medical Council and (GMC) the World Health Association (WHO).
In correspondence with the NSS earlier this year, the RCA’s clinical quality advisor said:
“In the past, there was a belief that neonates do not experience pain, this has been shown to be erroneous and circumcision is a painful procedure.”
She added: “Our position is therefore that analgesia is required for circumcision. In the neonate, in appropriate doses, local anaesthesia is likely to be safer than general anaesthesia”.
Guidance from the GMC, which regulates doctors in the UK, states: “If you agree to perform any procedure for religious or cultural reasons, you must meet the same standards of practice required for performing therapeutic procedures.
This includes “having the necessary skills and experience to perform the procedure and use appropriate measures, including anaesthesia, to minimise pain and discomfort both during and after the procedure”.
In Scotland, ritual circumcision of boys is funded by the NHS but only when carried out under general anaesthesia by a paediatric surgeon.
A 2007 WHO position paper on circumcision states: “The use of local anaesthesia for the procedure [neonatal circumcision] and analgesics is recommended for neonates”.
It adds: “Aside from complications, traditional circumcision can also be more painful than clinical circumcision, as use of anaesthetics is rare”.
Quality assurance guidelines from 2022 on non-therapeutic community male infant circumcision from Greater Manchester Safeguarding state: “Local anaesthetic by dorsal penile nerve block or ring block should be used.
“These techniques reduce, but do not eliminate, the pain of circumcision, so treatment with systemic analgesics should also be used.”
NSS: ‘Deeply disturbing that public purse is subsidising unanaesthetised circumcisions’
National Secular Society human rights lead Dr Alejandro Sanchez said: “The CPS is absolutely right that unanaesthetised circumcisions are a gratuitous infliction of pain.
“It is deeply disturbing that the public purse is subsidising a charity that facilitates this practice.
“The Charity Commission should now urgently review the charitable status of The Initiation Society, which openly flouts medical guidance. The rights of children must take precedence over religious interests.”