CRIMINALISE INFANT CIRCUMCISION.

Criminalise Infant Circumcision Until The Age Of Consent.

(British government.)

 
Young British boys are being circumcised without proper consent and the police are covering up evidence, CPS, Health Visitor and social service services are all failing us.

Currently this practise is not a criminal offense the only protection a helpless baby boy has is the hope that one of his parents will have the sense to object such abuse and protect him.

But when it is done without appropriate consent it should be treated as child abuse and assault.

Why should it be done with both parents consent if it had to be done at all?

The answer to this is because we have a legal system ready to take a draconian approach to protecting women.

This system as necessary as it maybe, fails especially when women lie to get the men out of the way so they can circumcise their children without consent.

So why do we consider this barbaric practise ok and allow it to go on?

Is it because we are afraid of being called racist or have we been bribed to look the other way?

Whatever the reason they have let children down badly.

Who is responsible for protecting the human right of children if they are at risk from their parent?

What happen when this is failed?

Is social services supposed to encourage this barbaric practice because of either one of the parent religious orientation?

Someone in social services did, and made comparisons with his own children who were also circumcised.

Who have we got running our offices?

Is it the child abusers themselves?

Who is responsible to protect the children and stop them from becoming victims of this abusive culture? 

There is evidence of lack of awareness about the true damage both psychologically and physically done to these unfortunate and helpless babies. 

Then we wonder why some men have a propensity for violent and sexual abuse.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/british-government-criminalised-infant-circumcision-until-the-age-of-consent

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GENITAL PAIN -V- GENITAL PLEASURE.

GENITAL PAIN VS. GENITAL PLEASURE: WHY THE ONE AND NOT THE OTHER?

Male circumcision is not primarily a medical issue but rather has its

roots in deeply held religious beliefs and social customs that defy

rational and humane understanding.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Genital mutilations of both males and females have been a common

practice in many cultures and have existed from the earliest days of

recorded history.

 

These excruciating painful procedures have been inflicted upon newborns

and adolescents for a variety of reasons.

 

Religious beliefs and social-cultural customs, particularly "rites of passage ceremonies" have been historically the primary reasons for both male and female genital mutilations.

 

Only recently has one form of genital mutilation, male circumcision, come under a different rubric of justification, i.e. modern medicine.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 http://violence.de/prescott/truthseeker/genpl.html  

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

.

 

PROTEIN STOPS HIV INFECTION IN ITS TRACKS!

PROTEIN STOPS HIV INFECTION IN ITS TRACKS!

Researchers in the Netherlands have identified a protein that might help
explain why promising microbicide gels are yet to prove effective against
HIV transmission.

Teunis Geijtenbeek and colleagues at VU University (Vrije Universiteit) in Amsterdam discovered that a protein that was thought to increase HIV transmission actually prevents transmission...
---------------------- ----------------------------- ------------------------------
Links... http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/News/2007/March/05030703.asp
__________________________________________________________

NOBEL LAUREATES FOR GENITAL INTEGRITY.

Nobel Laureates for Genital Integrity.

The worldwide human rights movement for bodily integrity has support

from some of the world’s finest scientists, among them Nobel laureates in Physiology and Medicine Francis Crick, co-discoverer of the molecular structure of the DNA molecule, and George Wald, discoverer of vitamin 'A'

in the retina of the eye and how it functions with light there to form the molecular and energetic basis of vision.

In 1995, Crick endorsed “The Ashley Montagu Resolution To End The Genital Mutilation Of Children Worldwide – A Petition To The World Court, the Hague”, as have many others concerned for children’s legal and human rights, health, and lives. 

 

This petition and its predecessor, the “Universal Declaration on Circumcision, Excision, and Incision”, were written by developmental neuropsychologist James Prescott, Ph.D., and adopted by the 1st and 4th International Symposia on Circumcision, in 1989 and 1996.

Now many new endorsers are joining Francis Crick, Marilyn Milos, Ashley Montagu, James Prescott, Jonas Salk, Benjamin Spock, George Wald and many others supporting genital integrity for all human children by endorsing this declaration and petition at the web site; MontaguNOCIRCpetition.

Wald (1906 - 1997) – Child of immigrant New York Jewish parents, beloved Harvard biology professor, and an important U.S. social activist for peace and justice – worked for many important social causes, among them human genital integrity, both male and female. 

 

His widow, Ruth Hubbard, also a former Harvard biology professor,

now supports the Intersex Society of North America, working for genital

self-determination for the intersexed.

In 1975 George Wald wrote and offered for publication in The New Yorker

a so-far unpublished essay called "Circumcision" – reviewed here in some detail – becoming the first Nobel laureate known to the author to have worked to protect the human right to genital integrity.
 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

http://www.stopinfantcircumcision.org/crick-wald.htm 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

.

MEDICAL ANALYSIS OF CIRCUMCISION.

MEDICAL ANALYSIS OF CIRCUMCISION.

 

Positions of major health organizations.

Numerous medical studies have examined the effects of circumcision with mixed opinions regarding the benefits and risks of the procedure.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_analysis_of_circumcision 

 

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.

COMPLICATIONS OF CIRCUMCISION.

COMPLICATIONS OF CIRCUMCISION.

Immediate complications of this surgical operation include:
hemorrhage, sometimes to the point of death or requiring a transfusion,

minor infections, life-threatening infections such as:-

 sepsis, meningitis, gangrene, staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome, erysipelas, and scrotal abscess.

 

 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

  http://www.courtchallenge.com/refs/complic1.html  

 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

 

.

BIOETHICS OF THE CIRCUMCISION OF MALE CHILDREN.

The Bioethics of the Circumcision of Male Children.

International human rights law has profoundly transformed medical ethics.
This page, therefore, indexes human rights instruments in addition to
medical ethics documents.

The Physician's Oath of the World Medical Association requires doctors
to use their medical knowledge in compliance with "the laws of humanity."
The codes of medical ethics of Australia, Canada, Norway, and the United States all require doctors to respect the 'human rights of patients'.

The United Kingdom makes respect for the human rights of patients a legal requirement by the Human Rights Act 1998.
Children enjoy certain human rights (including the right to special protection) under general human rights instruments. 

They also enjoy additional protections under special instruments related to childhood.
See 'Attorneys for the Rights of the Child' for a table of human rights that are violated by circumcision of male children.

The UN Commission on the former Yugoslavia defines circumcision as sexual assault and a human rights violation.

In Article 24.3 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child the phrase, "traditional procedures prejudicial to the health of children," refers to
the practice of circumcision.
The circumcision of male children, therefore, violates numerous provisions of various international human rights instruments, and must be considered unethical medical practice.

Doctors Opposing Circumcision has released a detailed report on human
rights and the circumcision of children.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 http://www.cirp.org/library/ethics/  

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

.

NORMAL -v- CIRCUMCISED.

NORMAL -v- CIRCUMCISED.
U.S. NEONATAL MALE GENITAL RATIO.

Interest in the genital integrity issue continues to grow and trustworthy statistics are necessary for an informed debate.

The American Academy of Pediatrics complained that statistics being cited are outdated and inaccurate.

The goal of this paper is to provide recent, accurate and consistent statistics for that discussion. 

This white paper addresses United States neonatal male circumcisions performed in hospitals.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

http://www.cirp.org/library/statistics/bollinger2003/

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

..

STATISTICS ON HUMAN GENITAL MUTILATION.

STATISTICS ON HUMAN GENITAL MUTILATION.


NOTE:
No comprehensive world records are kept regarding the exact
number of men and women now alive who were subjected as children
to genital mutilation customs, or the number of boys and girls today
who are customarily mutilated.

Even in the United States, no complete and accurate records are kept
of the number of circumcisions performed, or the number of
circumcision-related complications or deaths.

The figures below are conservative estimates based on reliable statistical sources.

------------------------- ------------------------- ------------------------------

 http://www.noharmm.org/HGMstats.htm  

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.

COMPLICATIONS OF CIRCUMCISION.

COMPLICATIONS of CIRCUMCISION.

 

Circumcision remains a common operation, with over 30 000 procedures performed annually in the UK, mostly on children.

 

The British Medical Association has recommended that circumcision should be performed only for medical reasons.

 

Despite this, controversy exists over whether too many circumcisions are being performed.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 http://www.cirp.org/library/complications/williams-kapila/ 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

.

THE HUMAN FORESKIN.

THE HUMAN FORESKIN.

The foreskin or prepuce (a technically broader term that also includes the clitoral hood, the homologous structure in women) is a retractable double-layered fold of skin and mucous membrane that covers the glans penis and protects the urinary meatus when the penis.

Contrary to popular belief, it does not always automatically retract during an erection.

Almost all mammals have foreskins, although in these non-human cases the foreskin is usually a sheath into which the whole penis is retracted.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreskin

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

.

MEN CIRCUMCISIED AS ADULTS.

Men Circumcised as Adults.

Only men circumcised as adults can experience the difference a foreskin makes.
In the Journal of Sex Research, Money and Davison from the Johns Hopkins
University School of Medicine reported on five such men. Changes included
diminished penile sensitivity and less penile gratification...
------------------- ----------------- ----------------- ----------------
Link... http://www.circumcision.org/adults.htm
__________________________________________________

WHAT IS THE PREPUCE ?

WHAT IS THE PREPUCE ?

VIDEO.... [19 minutes 29 Seconds]

--------------------- -------------------- -------------------------
Video Link... http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=163489&fr=

_______________________________________________________

GENITAL MUTILATION AMERICAN STYLE.

GENITAL MUTILATION AMERICAN STYLE.

How a father discovered, too late, that circumcision is not a good thing.

-------------- --------------------- ----------------------
Link... http://www.fathermag.com/health/circ/gmas/
____________________________________________

INCIDENCE AND DISTRIBUTION OF CIRCUMCISION.

Incidence and Distribution of Circumcision (Male Genital Mutilation) Worldwide.

 

Who Aren't Cut - and Who Are?
 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To see Graphic...click on link...     http://www.circumstitions.com/Maps.html  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.

THE BIOETHICS OF THE CIRCUMCISION OF MALE CHILDREN.

The Bioethics

of the

Circumcision of Male Children.

Cruel and degrading treatment is a violation of human rights.

Circumcision is a cruel and degrading treatment because it

degrades the appearance and function of the male sex organ

by removing large amounts of healthy functional protective

erogenous tissue.

--------------- ----------------------- --------------------- ----------------

Link... http://www.cirp.org/library/ethics/
_______________________________________________________

CIRCUMCISION IN THE NEWS.

CIRCUMCISION IN THE NEWS.

"We call on members of Congress to pass the MGM Bill
into law without delay so that boys may enjoy the
same protection from circumcision as girls."

------------------- ----------------- ---------------
Link... http://www.mgmbill.org/sitemap.htm#news
_____________________________________________________

MALE CIRCUMCISION IS GENITAL MUTILATION.

Study confirms male circumcision is genital mutilation.

March 19th, 2007.

 

A new study in the British Journal of Urology International shows that men with normal, intact penises enjoy more sexual sensitivity - as much as four times more - than men who have been circumcised. Circumcising slices off more of a male’s sensitivity than is normally present
in all ten fingertips.

Circumcision removes the most sensitive portions of the penis.

The news study demonstrates what we have suspected for decades, that circumcision’s result, if perhaps not its intent, is reduced sexual pleasure for men. As such, it is a violation of a male’s right to bodily integrity.

 

 

--------------- -------------------- ------------------------------------

Link...

http://www.icgi.org/2007/03/study-confirms-male-circumcision-is-genital-mutilation/ 

____________________________________________________

CIRCUMCISED MEN GET HIV.

HIV AND CIRCUMCISION FACTS TO CONSIDER.

CIRCUMCISED MEN GET HIV.

There is no evidence that the African studies showing a reduction in

female-to-male transmission of HIV have any relevance to the HIV epidemic in America.

 

The American HIV crisis is very different from the African epidemic - different cultures, sexual practices, virus strains, transmission vectors, and sanitary and hygienic conditions.

 

Further, no randomized controlled trial has shown that circumcision is an effective preventative in America or any other developed country.

 

 

 

 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

  http://www.icgi.org/Downloads/HIVSummary.pdf  

 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 

 

.

SIXTH CIRCUMCISION DEATH IN EASTERN CAPE.

SIXTH CIRCUMCISION DEATH IN EASTERN CAPE.

 

Sixth circumcision death in Eastern Cape June 25, 2006, 17:15.

Circumcision season today claimed its sixth victim within a week in the

Eastern Cape, provincial health authorities said.

 

Sizwe Kupelo, a department spokesperson, says police were on their

way to pick up the body at an initiation school which was erected in the bush.

The age of the boy is not yet known.

 

The season, which starts when schools close in June and ends when

they reopen again, is notorious for claiming the lives of young

boys, with about 15 dying in 2005.

 

Yesterday a fifth boy's body was picked up at an initiation school.

 

"Young boys are dying like flies," Kupelo says, adding that 13 boys as

young as 13 years have been circumcised in the area of Libode.

 

He says the boys often die of infection, gangrene or sepsis.

 

He says the boys steal chickens from villages to pay the "surgeons" and

go to these schools where they stand in a queue to be circumcised.

 

"Our worry, is that apart from dying, there is a high possibility that

the boys would end up contracting HIV."

 

He says these bogus traditional surgeons have received no training.

 

They take a spear or a knife and move down the queue, cutting the first

boy to the last without sterilising or washing the instrument.

 

"If the first have HIV the rest will be infected...people don't realise

those consequences." He pleaded with the so-called traditional surgeons

to stop circumcising young boys without permission.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ooOoo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   http://www.sabcnews.com/south_africa/crime1justice/0,2172,129981,00.html  

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ooOoo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

.

THE SEPARATION OF THE PREPUCE IN THE HUMAN PENIS.

THE SEPARATION OF THE PREPUCE
IN THE HUMAN PENIS.

As is well known, the prepuce in the human penis is adherent to the glans at birth, a layer of stratified squamous epithelium being interposed, and shortly after birth these parts become separated so that the prepuce may be retracted.

Failure of the prepuce to separate from the glans spontaneously or neglect to separate the parts by artificial means results in phimosis or inability to retract the prepuce.

Frequently, the customary retraction about the eighth day of infancy exposes
irregularly distributed bleeding points, indicating incomplete separation.

It is the purpose of this study to ascertain more definitely the nature of this cleaving process, the time of its onset, and the age when ultimate separation is completed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

  http://www.cirp.org/library/anatomy/deibert/  

 

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.

A GALLERY OF CIRCUMCISIONS.

GALLERY OF CIRCUMCISIONS.

 

 

A skin-bridge is formed when the raw remnant where the foreskin

was cut attaches to the raw surface of the glans and heals that way.

 

This happens after the doctor has lost interest in the case and the

mother, who has been told her son's circumcised penis is now

"low maintenance" and has no idea what it is "supposed" to look

like, does not notice that anything is the matter.

 

It is not only ugly, but creates a space where smegma may be

trapped and - unlike under the intact foreskin - can not be readily cleaned.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ooOoo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

1... http://www.circumstitions.com/Restric/Botched1sb.html

 

2... http://www.circumstitions.com/Restric/Botched2st.html

 

3... http://www.circumstitions.com/Restric/Botched3sc.html

 

4... http://www.circumstitions.com/Restric/Botched6un.html

 

5... http://www.circumstitions.com/Restric/Botched7ex.html 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ooOoo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Be advised:  The educational pages within contain close-up pictures of (mutilated) penises.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ooOoo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

.

COMPLICATIONS OF CIRCUMCISION.

COMPLICATIONS OF  CIRCUMCISION.

 

"Complications"
are defined very conservatively, including only those that are noticed before the baby leaves hospital or that lead to him being brought back to the same hospital or doctor.

 

They don't include aesthetic results so bad the parents take him back for more surgery.

 

Nor do they include the ones the penises' owners learn to live with - after all, part of the rationale of circumcision is horror of the penis, so the mother of a cut baby probably doesn't get to see or attend to a significant proportion of uneven cuts, scarring, etc.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

  http://www.circumstitions.com/Complic.html  

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

.

IMMUNOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS OF THE HUMAN PREPUCE.

IMMUNOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS

of the

HUMAN PREPUCE.

 

The demonisation of the human male prepuce has been an

unscientific process, even though some research, on the surface,

might seem to support it.

In the late 19th century, when male circumcision came into vogue in medicine in the United States, there was near universal acceptance among American medical professionals that circumcision was an effective treatment for such "diseases" as masturbation, headache, insanity, epilepsy, paralysis, strabismus, rectal prolapse, hydrocephalus, and clubfoot.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ooOoo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

  http://www.cirp.org/library/disease/STD/fleiss3/   

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ooOoo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

.

INFANT MALE CIRCUMCISION.

INFANT MALE CIRCUMCISION

IS NOT IN THE BEST INTERESTS

OF THE HEALTH & RIGHTS

OF THE CHILD.

Scope of the Problem...

Current national rates:

Australia 15%,

Canada 20%,

United States 60%.

In the U.S., over 1.25 million infants annually - more than 3,300 babies each day - one child every 26 seconds.

The surgery wastes more than $250 million health care dollars annually(4) as well as untold personnel hours.

Globally, 20% of male children will be subjected to some form of non-medically indicated genital mutilation.

------------------ -------------------------- ------------------------------

Link... http://www.eskimo.com/~gburlin/mgm/facts.html

__________________________________________________

THE GEOGRAPHY OF GENITAL MUTILATIONS.

The Geography of Genital Mutilations.

Genital mutilations elicit severe pain and terror in infants and children
and are often very dangerous to health.

Genital mutilations are among the most strongly defended, or defended against, of all cultural practices.

 

This paper summarizes portions of a prior study of the geographical aspects of human behavior among subsistence-level aboriginal peoples. (DeMeo, 1986, 1988).

 

The focus here will specifically be on the phenomenon of male genital mutilations.

 

Genital mutilations are often classified as a "cultural practice", but there is growing evidence that this benign-sounding label merely serves to dismiss or evade the painful and contractive effects the mutilations have upon the psyche and soma of the child.

 

Genital mutilations elicit severe pain and terror in infants and children and are often very dangerous to health, which raises important questions how they could have gotten started in the first instance.

 

People who do not engage in such practices view them almost always with horror and disbelief, while people who do them often have difficulty imagining life without the practice.

 

Oftentimes, the presence or the absence of the rites are seen as important requirements for the selection of a marriageable partner, and very powerful emotions focus upon them.

 

Genital mutilations are among the most strongly defended, or defended against, of all cultural practices.

 

Among the various theories developed to account for the mutilations, their geographical distribution has only rarely been discussed. (DeMeo 1986).

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 http://www.noharmm.org/geography.htm 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

.

THE RITUAL of CIRCUMCISION.

The Ritual of Circumcision.

Westerners look askance at the ritual mutilations of the body performed in exotic tribes, but they justify their own ritual mutilations as medically appropriate. Europeans sneer at the Maasai custom of lengthening the ear lobes, but they have their own noses bobbed and their faces lifted. Americans are horrified at the Arunta practice of subincision (slitting the penis on the ventral side) or the Sudanese tradition of infibulation (excising much of the female genitals and sewing up the vagina), but they stand with few other modern nations in clinging to a ritual that is no less "barbaric" and no more "hygienic," routine circumcision.
--------------------- -------------------------- ------------------------ ------------------
Link... http://www.noharmm.org/paige.htm
________________________________________________________________

MUTILATION....(DEFINED).

The wounding, maiming and disfiguring of the body

is a practice common among savages and

systematically pursued by many entire races.

-------------------- --------------------- ------------------------------

Mutilations of the sexual organs are more ethnically important than any.They have played a great part in human history, and still have much significance in many countries. Their antiquity is undoubtedly great, and nearly all originate with the idea of initiation into full sexual life. The most important, circumcision, has been transformed into a religious rite. Infibulation (Lat. fibula, a clasp), or the attaching a ring, clasp, or buckle to the sexual organs, in females through the labia majora, in males through the prepuce, was an operation to preserve chastity very commonly practised in antiquity. At Rome it was in use; Strabo says it was prevalent in Arabia and in Egypt, and it is still native to those regions (Lane, Modern Egyptians, i. 73; Arabic Lexicon, s.v. "hafada"). Niebuhr heard that it was practised on both shores of the Persian Gulf and at Bagdad (Description de l'Arabie, p. 70). It is common in Africa (see Sir H. H. Johnston, Kilimanjaro Expedition, 1886), but is there often replaced by an operation which consists in stitching the labia majora together when the girl is four or five years old. Castration is practised in the East to supply guards for harems, and was employed in Italy until the time of Pope Leo XIII. to provide "soprani" for the papal choir; it has also been voluntarily submitted to from religious motives (see Eunuch). The operation has, however, been resorted to for other purposes. Thus in Africa it is said to have been used as a means of annihilating conquered tribes. The Hottentots and Bushmen, too, have the curious custom of removing one testicle when a boy is eight or nine years old, in the belief that this partial emasculation renders the victim fleeter of foot for the chase. The most dreadful of these mutilations is that practised by certain Australian tribes on their boys. It consists of cutting open and leaving exposed the whole length of the urethral canal and thus rendering sexual intercourse impossible. According to some authorities it is hatred of the white man and dread of slavery which are the reasons of this racial suicide. Among the Dyaks and in many of the Melanesian islands curious modes of ornamentation of the organs (such as the kalang) prevail, which are in the nature of mutilations.
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Penal Use - Mutilation as a method of punishment was common in the criminal law of many ancient nations. In the earliest laws of England mutilation, maiming and dismemberment had a prominent place. "Men branded on the forehead, without hands, feet, or tongues, lived as examples of the danger which attended the commission of petty crimes and as a warning to all churls" (Pike's History of Crime in England, 1873). The Danes were more severe than the Saxons. Under their rules eyes were plucked out; noses, ears and upper lips cut off; scalps town away; and sometimes the whole body flayed alive. The earliest forest-laws of which there is record are those of Canute (io16). Under these, if a freedman offered violence to a keeper of the king's deer he was liable to lose freedom and property; if a serf, he lost his right hand, and on a second offence was to die. One who killed a deer was either to have his eyes put out or lose his life. Under the first two Norman kings mutilation was the punishment for poaching.
It was, however, not reserved for that, as during the reign of Henry I. some coiners were taken to Winchester, where their right hands were lopped off and they were castrated. Under the kings of the West Saxon dynasty the loss of hands had been a common penalty for coining (The Obsolete Punishments of Shropshire, by S. Meeson Morris). Morris quotes a case in John's reign at the Salop Assizes in 1203, where one Alice Crithecreche and others were accused of murdering an old woman at Lilleshall. Convicted of being accessory, Crithecreche was sentenced to death, but the penalty was altered to that of having her eyes plucked out. During the Tudor and Stuart periods mutilations were a common form of punishment extra-judicially inflicted by order of the privy council and the Star Chamber. There are said to be preserved at Playford Hall, Ipswich, instruments of Henry VIII.'s time for cutting off ears. This penalty appears to have been inflicted for not attending church. By an act of Henry VIII. (33 Hen. VIII. c. 12) the punishment for "striking in the king's court or house" was the loss of the right hand. For writing a tract on The Monstrous Regimen of Women a Nonconformist divine (Dr W. Stubbs) had his right hand lopped off. Among many eases of severe mutilations during Stuart times may be mentioned those of Prynne, Burton, Bastwick and Titus Oates.
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