by non-medical personnel under unsterile conditions. Circumcision is part of initiation rites in some African, Pacific Islander, and Australian aboriginal traditions in areas such as Arnhem Land, where the practice was introduced by Makassan traders from Sulawesi in the Indonesian Archipelago. Among some West African groups, such as the Dogon and Dowayo, circumcision is taken to represent a removal of “feminine” aspects of the male, turning boys into fully masculine males. Among the Urhobo of southern Nigeria it is symbolic of a boy entering into manhood. The ritual expression, Omo te Oshare (“the boy is now man”), constitutes a rite of passage from one age set to another.[ In West Africa infant circumcision may have had tribal significance as a rite of passage or otherwise in the past;2008, the German Association for Pediatric Surgery cautioned surgeons against allowing the ordering of the procedure for what could appear to be non-medical reasons.

International

The World Health Organization and UNAIDS (2007) recommend considering circumcision as part of a comprehensive program for prevention of HIV transmission in areas with high endemic rates of HIV.

The Netherlands

In the Netherlands, the Royal Dutch Medical Association (KNMG) stated in 2010 that non-therapeutic male circumcision “conflicts with the child’s right to autonomy and physical integrity.” They called on doctors to inform caregivers seeking the intervention of the (in their assessment) medical and psychological risks and lack of convincing medical benefits. They stated that there are as good reasons for legal prohibition of male circumcision as exist for female genital mutilation (FGM).

United Kingdom

There is a spectrum