Jewish groups seek assurances after CPS draft suggests some circumcisions could be ‘child abuse’
Community leaders warn leaked guidance risks undermining brit milah despite CPS pledge to consult before finalising rules
Jewish organisations are seeking firm guarantees from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) after leaked draft guidance suggested that circumcision, if carried out improperly, could amount to “child abuse”.
The draft advice, reported by The Guardian, prompted concern across the Jewish community, with Milah UK confirming it will meet CPS representatives next week to press for explicit protections for brit milah as a core religious practice.
According to the report, the draft guidance stated that circumcision could be “a painful and harmful practice, if carried out incorrectly or in inappropriate circumstances” and “may be a form of child abuse or an offence against the person”.
In response, the CPS stressed that it recognises the religious significance of male circumcision and said no final decisions have been taken. In a statement, it said: “We absolutely recognise that for many, male circumcision is a safe and celebrated tradition.
“However, while circumcision is legal, we have recently prosecuted cases where significant harm and distress have been caused to victims where this procedure has been carried out improperly and in unsafe circumstances.”
The CPS added that it is “currently carrying out extensive consultation with different communities to ensure we strike the correct balance and ensure their views are taken into account before finalising the guidance”, and said it would apply “rigorous scrutiny” to distinguish between lawful religious practice and criminal conduct.
Jonathan Arkush, co-chair of Milah UK, said the organisation was confident the government understood the sensitivity of the issue for Jewish families.
“We are confident that the importance of this issue to our community is respected and understood by the UK government, and we will ensure any public guidance that is to be considered respects Jewish practice,” he said.
“Throughout, our focus is on the importance of circumcision being practised safely for everyone, and on highlighting the robust training, regulation and safeguarding processes followed within our community, so that this essential tenet of our faith can be carried out with care and confidence.”
Speaking to The Guardian, Arkush said describing circumcision as a harmful practice was “deeply pejorative and misplaced”.
The leaked guidance follows two convictions last year relating to unhygienic circumcisions, one involving a former surgeon and another a man posing as a doctor. Neither individual was Jewish.
Concerns about non-medical circumcision were also raised by the assistant coroner for West London, Dr Anton van Dellen, following the death of six-month-old Mohammed Abdisamad in February 2023, several days after he was circumcised. The child was Muslim, and it is understood the circumciser was not Jewish.
In a prevention of future deaths report, van Dellen warned that risks would remain “unless action is taken”, citing the absence of a formal accreditation system for those performing “non-therapeutic” circumcisions, alongside gaps in infection control and aftercare requirements.
Jewish bodies say those concerns do not reflect how brit milah is regulated within the community. Bris, the British Initiation Society, which oversees Orthodox circumcision, says mohelim undergo “rigorous training and testing before qualifying as accredited members”, covering both halachic and medical standards.
The Association for Progressive Mohelim has also said that all of its practitioners are qualified doctors.
Community leaders have emphasised that their priority is safeguarding children while ensuring that any prosecutorial guidance clearly protects lawful Jewish practice from mischaracterisation.
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