The K-Zone: female circumcision

This was made an offence by the ProhibitionOfFemaleCircumcisionAct1985. It is not a defence to say that the victim gave consent, which puts it on the same footing as other OffencesAgainstThePerson that cause injury whose severity is equal to, or greater than, ABH. However, male circumcision is one of the class of activities in which consent can be used as a defence; others include agressive sports and surgery. The distinction seems to be that female circumcision was widely practised among certain ethnic groups, and women were too scared to deny consent. In addition, male circumcision may serve a medical benefit, while this is never true of female circumcision.

CriminalLaw