Changes

'''Australia''', like other English-speaking countries, once had a rather high rate of non-therapeutic neonatal [[circumcision ]] of male infants, however Australia (2019) now has a very low rate of non-therapeutic neonatal circumcision.Consequently, the [[circumcised]] males are concentrated in the older age groups. As they pass away and are replaced by younger [[intact]] males, the prevalence of [[circumcised]] men is diminishing. Circumcised males are now in the minority in Australia and have been at least since 2011.<ref name="cozijn2013">{{REFweb |url=http://www.circinfo.org/statistics.html |title=Incidence and prevalence of circumcision in Australia |trans-title= |language= |last=Cozijn |first=John |author-link= |publisher=Circumcision Information Australia |website=circinfo.org |date=2013 |accessdate=2020-01-26 |format= |quote=}}</ref> The percentage of [[circumcised]] males in Australia (prevalence) is reported to be 26.6%.<ref>{{REFweb |url=https://circstatistics.github.io/ |title=Global Circumcision Statistics and Estimates |last= |first= |init= |publisher=https://circstatistics.github.io |date=2024-04-01 |accessdate=2024-04-01}}</ref>

The indigeous indigenous people of Australia, the [[Aborigines]], have variously practiced [[Religion and culture#Australia| subincision]] and [[circumcision]] since before the first contact with Europeans. The incidence of non-therapeutic neonatal [[circumcision]] in Australia approached that of the [[United States]] in the 1930s through 1960s.

[[Douglas Gairdner]]'s famous, classic 1949 paper, ''The incidence Fate of the Foreskin: A Study of Circumcision'',<ref name="gairdner1949">{{GairdnerDM 1949}}</ref> seems to have had no effect in Australia. However, criticism of the practice of non-therapeutic neonatal circumcision accelerated in Australia approached that of the United States in the 1930s through 1960s1967.

[[Douglas Gairdner]]'s famous, classic 1949 The Melbourne Paediatric Society held a meeting on 12 November 1952 at which Dr. John Begg read a paper, "''The Fate of Why Circumcise''" in which the Foreskin: A Study practice of Circumcision'',child circumcision was questioned.<ref name="gairdner1949">{{REFjournal |last=GairdnerMedical Societies |firstinit=Douglas M. |titleauthor-link=The fate of the foreskin: a study of circumcision |journallast2=British Medical Journal |volumeinit2=2 |issue=4642 |pagesauthor2-link=1433-1437 |url=https://www.ncbicirp.nlm.nih.govorg/pmcnews/articles1953/PMC2051968/pdf/brmedj036561953-04-000925_medjaust.pdfphp |title=Why Circumcise? |journal=Med J Aust |quotedate=1953-04-25 |pubmedIDvolume=154082991 |pubmedCIDissue=205196817 |DOIpages=10.1136/bmj.2.4642.1433603-04 |datepubmedID=194913062881 |accessdate=20192024-1011-2811}}</ref> seems to have had no effect in Australia.

Morgan (1967) criticised non-therapeutic [[circumcision ]] in a letter published in the ''Medical Journal of Australia''.<ref>{{REFjournal

|firstinit=WKC |author-link=

|last=Wright |firstinit=JE |author-link= |etal=no |title=Non-therapeutic circumcision |trans-title= |language= |journal=Med J Aust location= |date=1967-05-27 |volume=1 |issue= |pages=1083-7 |url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/wright4/ |quote= |pubmedID=6028342 |pubmedCID= |DOI= |accessdate=2019-10-28 }}</ref>

The ''Australian Paediatric Journal'' issue of June 1970, published three articles critical of non-therapeutic infant [[circumcision]].<refname="leitch1970">{{REFjournal

|first=I.O. |author-linkinit=IO

|first=R.G. |author-linkinit=RG

|first=E.D. |author-linkinit=ED

|accessdate=20192023-1012-2717

After considering the three papers published in the ''Australian Paediatric Journal'', the [http://auspaediatrics.com.au/ Australian Paediatric Society] adopted a resolution on 24 April 24, 1971 that the circumcision of male infants should not be performed as a routine measure. That resolution subsequently was reported in a letter by Belmaine Bellmaine published in the ''Medical Journal of Australia'' on 22 May 22, 1971.<ref name="belmaine1971bellmaine1971">{{REFjournal |last=BelmaineBellmaine |firstinit=SP |author-link=

The incidence of non-therapeutic child [[circumcision ]] in Australia started to decline after the publication of the Belmaine (1971) letter. By 1978, only 50 percent of newborn boys were being circumcised.  The [[Australasian Association of Paediatric Surgeons]] (1996) in an official statement, called "routine" (i.e. non-therapeutic) circumcision "inappropriate and unnecessary."<ref name=leditschke1996>{{REFdocument |title=Guidelines for Circumcision |url=http://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aaps/ |last=Leditschke |first=J. Fred |author-link= |publisher=Australasian Association of Paediatric Surgeons |format= |date=1996 |accessdate=2021-11-07}}</ref>

==Non-therapeutic circumcision and Australian law===== International human rights law ===Australia is a state-party to the United Nations ''[https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CCPR.aspx Covenant on Civil and Political Rights]'' (1966) and to the United Nations ''[https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/crc.aspx Convention on the Rights of the Child]'' (1989), both of which provide various [[human rights]] to children, which are violated by non-therapeutic child circumcision. === Australian domestic law ===The legality of non-therapeutic circumcision of boys has been considered several times.

The [https://www.qlrc.qld.gov.au/ Queensland Law Reform Commission] (1993) researched the legality of non-therapeutic circumcision of boys has been considered several timeschildren.The Commission concluded:

[[Davis Richards ]] (1996) discussed non-therapeutic circumcision of boys. He concluded: 

Professor [[J. Neville Turner |Neville Turner]] (1996) reported that [[circumcised ]] boys may sue their circumciser.<ref name="turner1996">{{REFjournal

|first=J. Neville |init=JN |author-link=J. Neville Turner

[[Gregory J. Boyle| Boyle '']] et al''. (2000) suggested that non-therapeutic circumcision of boys is "criminal assault." They concluded: 

Enforced non-therapeutic genital cutting of unconsenting minors is overdue for recognition by the legal community as sexual mutilation. As we enter the 21st Century, appropriate legal action must be taken to safeguard the physical [[genital integrity ]] of male children.<ref>{{REFjournalBoyleGJ SvobodaJS PriceCP TurnerJN 2000}}</ref> |last=Boyle</blockquote> |first=Gregory J |authorThe ''Tasmanian Law Reform Institute'' recommended in a [https://www.utas.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/302829/Non-Therapuetic-Circ_Final-Report-August-2012.pdf 101-page report] that non-link=Gregory Boyletherapeutic circumcision of boys be made unlawful in Tasmania.<ref>{{REFnews |last2title=SvobodaTasmania moves a step closer to circumcision ban |first2url=J Steven |author2https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/tasmania-moves-a-step-closer-to-circumcision-ban-20120821-link=J24ju9. Steven Svobodahtml |last3last=PriceDarby |first3first=Christopher PAndrew |author3-linkpublisher=Sydney Morning Herald |last4website=Turner |first4date=Neville |author42012-08-link=21 |etalaccessdate=no2021-09-23 |titlequote=Circumcision Costs of Healthy Boys: Criminal Assault?the procedure included significant [[pain]], and a potential reduction in sexual pleasure.…"Trauma from circumcision in childhood can also have a long lasting and significant effect on a person's mental health," the report said. |trans-title=}}</ref> |language= |journal=J Law Med |location= |date=2000Grace Gunn (2019) argues that non-02 |volumetherapeutic circumcision of boys should be prohibited in New South Wales.<ref name=7 |issue= |pages=301-10"gunn2019">{{REFweb |url=httphttps://www.cirpacademia.orgedu/library/legal/boyle115677989/SHOULD_NON-THERAPEUTIC_MALE_CIRCUMCISION_BE_PROHIBITED_IN_NSW_WHY?email_work_card=view-paper |title=Should Non-Therapeutic Male Circumcision be Prohibited in NSW? |quotelast=Gunn |pubmedIDfirst=Grace |pubmedCIDwebsite=Academia |DOIdate=2019 |accessdate=2019-1012-3101

Despite the criticism in the above referenced papers, there has been no legislative or judicial action to protect boys in Australia from medically-unnecessary , non-therapeutic [[circumcision]]. == Circumcision in the 21st Century == The [[Sixth International Symposium]] on Genital Integrity convened in [https://www.wesleycollege-usyd.edu.au/ Wesley College] at the {{UNI|University of Sydney|USYD}}, Sydney, {{AUSC|NSW}}, Australia on December 7-9, 2000. Professor [[Gregory J. Boyle]] gave the keynote address.

==Circumcision in the 21st Century==The ''Sidney Sydney Morning Herald'' reported on the decline in non-therapeutic circumcision of boys in Australia early in the 21st Century.<ref>{{REFnews

|coauthors= |publisher=Sidney Sydney Morning Herald

The several Australian states operate public hospitals. By 2008 all public hospitals in all states no longer offer offered non-therapeutic [[circumcision ]] to patients.<ref>{{REFnews

As the incidence of non-therapeutic circumcision has declined, the incidence of infant deaths and [[SIDS ]] deaths has also declined, while the overall health of Australia's children has improved.<ref>{{REFbook

|author-linkinit=D

|author2-linkinit2=M

|isbn=SBN 978 1 74024 929 4 |quote=9781740249294

The former ''Australian College of Paediatrics '' was merged into the [https://www.racp.edu.au/ [Royal Australasian College of Physicians]] (RACP), which has issued a statement on non-therapeutic child circumcision. The statement (2010) states: 

After reviewing the currently available evidence, the [[RACP ]] believes that the frequency of diseases modifiable by circumcision, the level of protection offered by circumcision and the complication rates of circumcision do not warrant routine infant circumcision in Australia and [[New Zealand]]. However it is reasonable for parents to weigh the benefits and risks of circumcision and to make the decision whether or not to circumcise their sons.

|contribution= |last= |first= |publisher=The [[Royal Australasian College of Physicians]]

The [[RACP]], a [[medical trade association]], retired this [http://www.intactaus.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/RACP-statement.pdf 2010 statement] in December 2022, when it issued a new statement that was ''not'' an improvement. [[Robert Darby |Darby]] (2011) collected circumcision statistics from the various Australian states and territories. Darby reported a high rate of 17.3 percent in New South Wales in 2010 and a low of 1.5 percent in Tasmania in the same year. Other states fell in between.<ref>{{REFjournal

Sliwinski et al. (2014) of the Department of Urology at the {{UNI|University of Melbourne|UM}} reported a case of [[Fournier gangrene]] in a 24-year-old man who had an elective non-therapeutic circumcision for “prophylactic hygiene reasons”. There was extensive debridement of infected tissue, which resulted in deficit of skin which was resolved by the use of a pedicle flap from the anterior abdominal wall, after which the patient recovered.<ref>{{REFjournal |last=Sliwinsk |init=A |last2=Kavanagh |init2=LE |last3=Bolton |init3=D |last4=Lawrentschuk |init4=N |last5=Crock |init5=JG |etal=no |title=Fournier’s gangrene - delayed pedicle flap based upon the anterior abdominal wall |journal=Int Braz J urol |date=2014 |volume=40 |issue=3 |pages=423-6 |url=https://www.scielo.br/j/ibju/a/TC3tkRhqGS8577ywNNkJ8dj/?lang=en |pubmedID=25010310 |pubmedCID= |DOI=10.1590/S1677-5538.IBJU.2014.03.18 |accessdate=2022-01-18}}</ref> Na ''et al''. (2015) considered whether Australian boys should be [[circumcised]]. They concluded: <blockquote>In conclusion, although there is a benefit of circumcision in those with urogenital tract anomalies, in a healthy newborn,the disease in the foreskin is non-existent. There is insufficient scientific evidence to support routine newborn circumcision in Australia done for UTI risk and [[HIV ]] transmission issues alone. Therefore, any surgical complication and financial cost of routine newborn circumcision for these reasons in Australia currently cannot be justified. From a medical point of view, the‘price’ is still too high.<ref name="na2015">{{REFjournal

|first=Angelika F. |author-linkinit=AF

|first2=Sharman PTP.T. |author2-linkinit2=SPT

|first3=John M. |author3-linkinit3=JM

 Oddly enough, The the [https://www.humanservices.gov.au/organisations/health-professionals?utm_id=9 federal Medicare programme] still pays an inadequate [[third-party payment]] of AU$35.45 for non-therapeutic circumcision.<ref>{{REFweb

|title=Scientific Advice, Traditional Practices and the Politics of Health-Care: The Australian Debate over Public Funding of Non-Therapeutic Circumcision, 1985 |trans-title= |language=

Na, Tanny & Hutson (2015) discussed the matter of non-therapeutic circumcision of children in Australia. They concluded: <blockquote>There is insufficient scientific evidence to support routine newborn circumcision in Australia done for UTI risk and [[HIV]] transmission issues alone. Therefore, any surgical complication and financial cost of routine newborn circumcision for these reasons in Australia currently cannot be justified. From a medical point of view, the ‘price’ is still too high.<ref name="na2015"/></blockquote> The incidence of non-therapeutic [[circumcision ]] of children in Australia has continued to diminish. [[Circumcision Info Australia| Circumcision Information Australia ]] (2017) reported an incidence of infant circumcision of 9.66 percent in fiscal 2015.<ref>{{REFweb

}}</ref>The majority of living Australian males are [[intact]]. The percentage of living intact males increases year-by-year. Circumcision Information Australia (CIA) (2018) reported:

According to a report on SBS, <ref>{{REFweb |url=https://www.sbs.com.au/news/why-is-the-number-of-male-circumcisions-declining-in-australia/7ed6f0f3-23a2-4717-a125-494bd6554b7f |title=Why is the number of male circumcisions declining in Australia? |last=Yosufzai |first=Rashida |author-link= |publisher=SBS |website= |date=2018-02-19 |accessdate=2021-11-08 |format= |quote=}}</ref> Australia’s circumcision rate has fallen by over two thirds over the past decade. According to Medicare figures, there were only 6309 6,309 boys (under 6 months) [[circumcised ]] in the 2016/17 financial year, compared with 19,663 in 2007/08. SBS quotes Professor Paul Colditz, head of the Paediatrics and Child Health Division of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, as saying that '''only about 4 per cent of baby boys are being circumcised these days''', “so I guess parents are really making up their own minds on the basis of the available evidence.” He added that there could be some procedures not captured by the Medicare data if performed by religious figures such as [[mohel| Mohels]], but that would be a fairly small number in relation to the 6000 6,000 or so babies [[circumcised ]] in the past year. Professor Colditz attributed the sharp decline to two main factors - — better informed parents and more fathers not being [[circumcised ]] themselves. The number of new fathers (many born in the 1980s and early 90s) who were themselves not [[circumcised ]] is increasing, and they are deciding that there is no reason why they should circumcise their own sons. Parents were also making up their own minds by researching available evidence. “We've entered an era where everyone is looking at the evidence and asking, ‘Is this operation worthwhile, will it be effective, what are the risks?'" Professor Colditz said. Parents are assessing the balance between the potential for any benefits against the potential for harm and damage. “I think the whole of society is getting more sophisticated in the way they do this.”<ref>{{REFweb

|journal=Med J Aust |location= |date=1971-07-24 |volume=2 |issue=4 |article= |page=223 |pages= |url=https://www.cirp.org/library/statements/apa1971/ |archived= |quote= |pubmedID=5093878 |pubmedCID= |accessdate=2023-11-18}}</ref> As stated above, the incidence of non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] of boys declined precipitously after the publication of these letters, so most men under forty-nine are [[intact]]. These [[foreskinned]] men are now becoming fathers. They are aware of the value and functions<ref name="helard2014">{{REFweb |url=http://www.intactaus.org/information/functionsoftheforeskin/ |title=Functions of the Foreskin |last=Helard |first=Lou

|publisher=Circumcision Information Intact Australia

|date=20182014-08-01 |accessdate=20192020-1105-0629

}}* {{REFweb |url=https://intactivistsofaustralasia.wordpress.com/ |title=Intactivists of Australasia |formatdate=2021-05-19 |quoteaccessdate=2022-07-07