Ending Forced Genital Cutting of Children and Violation of Their Human Rights: Ethical, Psychological and Legal Considerations Gregory J. Boyle Neonatal male circumcision has no medical indication, 1 is non-therapeutic, 2 and violates the child's right to bodily integrity. 3 No national or international medical association anywhere in the world recommends routine neonatal male circumcision. Female circumcision has been outlawed in a several Australian jurisdictions. Failure to provide equal protection under the law for male minors is discriminatory. Parents cannot give legal consent for a non-therapeutic surgical intervention performed on an unconsenting minor. 4 All forms of genital cutting imposed on children (including unnecessary sex-reduction circumcision surgery, as well as sex-assignment/reassignment surgery) may have serious life-long adverse physical, sexual and psychological consequences. 5 Genital cutting imposed on normal, healthy children causes grievous bodily harm (genital mutilation), and in the absence of medical necessity, amounts to criminal sexual assault. 6 Introduction An estimated 650 million males and 120 million females living today have been genitally altered as children. 7 Mounting evidence now reveals that such genital cutting causes irrevocable harm physically, sexually, and psychologically for the victim. For example, damage from male circumcision is considerable, depriving an adult male of 64-90 square centimeters of erotogenic penile tissue. 8 9 Male circumcision removes at least 50% of the penile skin and thousands of highly specialised erotogenic nerve endings, necessary for normal sexual function and responsivity. 10 11 12