Finland

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Finland is a Nordic nation in Northern Europe. Like other Nordic nations, the people abhor non-medical child circumcision.

In 2013, children's ombudsmen from Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, and Iceland, along with the Chair of the Danish Children's Council and the children's spokesperson for Greenland, passed a resolution that emphasized the decision to be circumcised should belong to the individual, who should be able to give informed consent.[1]

The Nordic Association of Clinical Sexologists (2013) supports the position of the Nordic Association of Ombudsmen who reason that circumcision violates the individual's human rights by denying the male child his ability to make the decision for himself.[2]

Human rights

Finland became the 23rd member State of the Council of Europe on 5 May 1989.[3] As a member of the Council of Europe, Denmark is subject to the European Convention on Human Rights[4] and is pledged to advance the enumerated rights in its territory. It may be sued in the European Court of Human Rights for violations of its duty.

The Right to Security of Person is provided by Article Five of the ECHR.

History

In a ruling issued in 1999 the Deputy Parliamentary Ombudsman Riitta-Leena Paunio said that Finnish public health institutions are not obliged to perform male circumcisions for non-medical reasons.

Four boys in Finland were hospitalized after being circumcised by a visiting Muslim doctor. One of the boys had gangrene in his penis, but it apparently was successfully treated in hospital. An African-born doctor visiting Kuopio last week performed the operation on seven Muslim boys. The youngest was just three months old, and the oldest were about ten.[5]

The office of the Prosecutor General is considering filing charges in a case in which seven Muslim boys in the city of Kuopio had to be hospitalised last year following religiously-mandated circumcisions performed at their homes. In August last year an African-born doctor performed circumcisions according to Muslim teaching on the seven boys, who later required hospital treatment. When the case was made public, police investigated it as one of aggravated assault. One of the investigators now says that factors have come to light which mean that the actions cannot be considered aggravated. The case is being investigated as an ordinary assault. The boys' parents have been interrogated as possible suspects.[6]

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities sent a letter to Finnish university hospitals in 2003 to urge them to perform non-medical circumcisions, however some doctors have refused to perform the operation, saying that it violates the physical integrity of the child.[7]

The Central Union for Child Welfare in Finland issued a position statement on male circumcision in 2003. The statement said "circumcision of boys that violates the personal integrity of the boys is not acceptable unless it is done for medical reasons to treat an illness."[8]

A Muslim mother had been charged with assault after she had her four-year-old son circumcised. The trial court ruled that the circumcision of the boy was illegal.[9]

The Ministry of Social Affairs planned to legalise male circumcison in 2008, but the plan was not adopted.[10]

The Green League voted in 2012 to seek the phase-out of non-medical male circumcision of boys by law.[11]

True Finns, Finland's third largest political party, proposed banning non-medical ritual circumcision in October 2012.[12]

Recent developments

A Finnish intactivist group has created a citizen's initiative petition to the Parliament to reform the law so as to prohibit non-medical circumcision of boys. The petition, dated 21 October 2020 has been presented to the Parliament. An English translation of the Finnish original has been prepared.[13]

References

  1. ↑ REFweb Nordic Association of Children's Ombudsmen (30 September 2013). Let the boys decide for themselves. Retrieved 3 November 2020.[] Tuesday, 1 October 2013
  2. ↑ REFdocument Statement on Non-Therapeutic Circumcision of Boys PDF, Nordic Association of Clinical Sexologists. (3 October 2013). Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  3. ↑ Finland // 47 Etats, one Europe
  4. ↑ REFdocument European Convention on Human Rights PDF, Council of Europe. (1950). Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  5. ↑ REFnews (21 August 2001)."Botched circumcisions send four boys to hospital in Kuopio", Helsingin Sanomat. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  6. ↑ REFnews (29 January 2002)."Prosecutor General to consider possible charges in botched circumcision case", Helsinin Sanomat, International Edition. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  7. ↑ REFnews (24 March 2003)."Finnish hospitals urged to perform circumcisions", Helsinor Sanomat. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  8. ↑ REFdocument Position Statement on the Circumcision of Boys, Central Union for Child Welfare in Finland. (25 August 2003). Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  9. ↑ REFnews (7 August 2006)."Court rules circumcision of four-year-old boy illegal", Helsingin Sanomat. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  10. ↑ REFnews (31 July 2008)."Finland Considers Legalising Male Circumcision", YLE Uutiset. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  11. ↑ REFnews Vähäsarja, Irina (28 May 2012)."NEWS ANALYSIS: Finland lacks policy on religiously-mandated male circumcision", Helsingin Sanomat. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  12. ↑ REFnews (2 October 2012)."Finnish party plans new bill to ban circumcision", Jewish Telegraph Agency. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  13. ↑ REFdocument Ban on genital mutilation in boys. (21 October 2020). Retrieved 5 November 2020.
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