15,529
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
{{Construction Site}}[[File:Flag of Sweden.svg|thumb|150px|Flag of Sweden]]
|last2=
|first2=
|author2-link=
Non[[Sverigedemokraterna| Sweden Democrats]] introduced a bill into the Riksdag on 24 September 2013 that would ban the non-therapeutic circumcision of boys under 18 years of age is regulated since 2001 by the ''"Lag (2001.<ref>{{REFweb |url=https:499) om omskärelse av pojkar"'' (Law regarding circumcision of boys)//www. According to it, such circumcisions are a surgical procedure and have to be carried out by a qualified doctor and under anaesthesiaarclaw. For boys under 2 months of age, org/news/good-news-from-sweden-officials-denounce-male-circumcision may also be carried out by another competent person with a government license. This applies -and-bill-introduced-to persons that have been nominated by religious groups in which circumcision is part of the religious tradition. Persons who perform a -ban-circumcision without the necessary qualification or license face a fine or prison sentence of up |title=Bill Introduced to six months. The ban circumcision requires the consent of the legal guardians. It may not be carried out against the child's will, if he has the age and level of maturity for such a statement. |last= |first= |date=2013-09-28 |accessdate=2012-03-13}}</ref>
→Recent developments: Add text and citation.
'''Sweden''' (''Sverige'') is a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy. The 349-seat unicameral parliament is named the ''Riksdag'',
==Nordic view of non-therapeutic circumcision of boys.==
Sweden is a Nordic nation in Northern Europe. Like other Nordic nations, the people abhor child non-therapeutic [[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]].<ref name="resolution2">{{REFweb
|last=Nordic Association of Children's Ombudsmen
|title=Let the boys decide for themselves
}}[] Tuesday, 1 October 2013</ref>
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.<ref name="nordicsexologits2013">{{REFdocument
|title=Statement on Non-Therapeutic Circumcision of Boys
|url=http://nacs.eu/data/press_release001.pdf
|last=Aktor
|first=Mikael
|init=M
|author-link=Mikael Aktor
|year=2016
|title=Whose Rights? The Danish Debate on Ritual Infant Male Circumcision as a Human Rights Issue
The resolution includes other topics such as the [[FGM|female genital mutilation]], the [[MGM|male circumcision]] for religious reasons, and the submission or coercion of a child to piercings, tattoos or cosmetic surgery.
The resolution calls on all member States to "''examine the prevalence of different categories of non-medically justified operations and interventions impacting on the [[physical integrity ]] of children in their respective countries, as well as the specific practices related to them, and to carefully consider them in light of the best interests of the child in order to define specific lines of action for each of them; initiate focused awareness-raising measures for each of these categories of violation of the physical integrity of children, to be carried out in the specific contexts where information may best be conveyed to families, such as the medical sector (hospitals and individual practitioners), schools, religious communities or service providers; [...].''"
This first resolution of its kind by a European institution is not legally binding, but an important signal for further debate and action. It shifts the approach of the point of view of the topic from the current medical domain towards a [[human rights]] approach and identifies the right to bodily integrity, autonomy and self-determination. It calls the for the end of non-therapeutic cosmetic medical and surgical interventions.
===ICCPR===
Sweden ratified the ''[[International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights]]'' in 1972.
====Article two====
Article 2(1) of that covenant provides:
<blockquote>
1. Each State Party to the present Covenant undertakes to respect and to ensure to all individuals within its territory and subject to its Jurisdiction the rights recognized in the present Covenant, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.
</blockquote>
Some rights recognized by the ''Covenant '' relevant to the non-therapeutic [[circumcision ]] of male children are:
====Article seven====
}}</ref>
</blockquote>
This means that all children, male and female, and regardless of parental religious views, shall enjoy the same [[human rights]].
====Article twelve====
}}</ref>
The CRC was incorporated into the law of Sweden on 1 January 2020.<ref>{{REFweb |url=https://www.swedenhk.com/convention-on-the-rights-of-the-child-new-law-in-sweden-since-jan-1st/ |title=Convention on the Rights of the Child – new law in Sweden since Jan 1st |last= |first= |accessdate=2021-03-13}}</ref> Nevertheless, actual practice seems not to have changed and Sweden still has ''not'' fulfilled its several promises to protect the [[human rights ]] and physical integrity of boys.
==Legislation==
Professor [[Yngve Hofvander]] presented a proposal for a law to regulate the practice of child non-therapeutic circumcision at the [[Sixth International Symposium]] at Sydney, Australia in 2000.<ref name="hofvander2000>{{REFbook
|last=Hofvander
|first=Yngve
|init=Y
|author-link=Yngve Hofvander
|year=2001
|title=Circumcision of Boys in Sweden: Proposal for Government Regulation
|url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4757-3351-8_9
|work=Understanding Circumcision
|editor=George C. Denniston, Marilyn Fayre Milos, and Frederick Mansfield Hodges
|edition=
|volume=
|chapter=
|pages=147-51
|location=New York
|publisher=Springer
|isbn=
|quote=
|accessdate=2021-02-13
|note=
}}</ref>
The Riksdag enacted the circumcision law in 2001.
Non-therapeutic circumcision of boys under 18 years of age is regulated since 2001 by the ''"Lag (2001:499) om omskärelse av pojkar"'' (Law regarding circumcision of boys). According to it, such circumcisions are a surgical procedure and have to be carried out by a qualified doctor and under anaesthesia. For boys under 2 months of age, circumcision may also be carried out by another competent person with a government license. This applies to persons that have been nominated by religious groups in which circumcision is part of the religious tradition. Persons who perform a circumcision without the necessary qualification or license face a fine or prison sentence of up to six months. The circumcision requires the consent of the legal guardians. It may not be carried out against the child's will, if he has the age and level of maturity for such a statement.<ref name= "hofvander2002">{{REFjournal
|last=Hofvander
|first=Yngve
|init=
|author-link=Yngve Hofvander
|etal=no
|title=New law on male circumcision in Sweden
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Lancet
|location=
|date=2002-02-16
|volume=359
|issue=9306
|article=
|page=630
|pages=
|url=https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(02)07737-1/fulltext
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=11867150
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1016/S0140-6736(02)07737-1
|accessdate=2021-03-12
}}</ref>
The Riksdag enacted a 2001 circumcision law makes non-therapeutic child [[circumcision]] somewhat safer because a licensed medical doctor must be in 2001attendance. It requires the use of anaesthesia so the extreme [[pain]] and [[trauma]] of child circumcision is reduced. However it stops short of protecting the [[human rights]] of the child. The child will still suffer harm due to the [[amputation]] of the multi-functional [[foreskin]].
==Recent developments==
Sentiment against the involuntary, non-therapeutic circumcision of boys is growing.
Sweden has a very large number of political parties. None can get a majority in the Riksdag so a coalition of parties must be created in order to create a government.
Several parties have voted internally to favor a law that would prohibit non-therapeutic circumcision of boys:
* The [[Vänsterpartiet]] (Left Party}(V) proposes a legal ban on non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] ([[MGM| genital mutilation]]) of boys.
* The [[Centerpartiet]] (Centre Party) (C) voted in September 2019 to forbid the non-medical circumcision of boys.<ref name="Aftonbladed">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/a/Wbdn8j/centern-vill-forbjuda-omskarelse-pa-pojkar
|title=Centern vill förbjuda omskärelse på pojkar
|trans-title=The center wants to prohibit circumcision on boys
|language=Swedish
|last=
|first=
|publisher=''Aftonbladed''
|website=
|date=2019-09-28
|accessdate=2019-09-29
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref>
* The popolist, conservative [[Sverigedemokraterna]] (Sweden Democrats) (SD), which is gaining popularity, supports a ban on non-therapeutic circumcision of boys.<ref>{{REFnews
|title=Sweden Democrats Party Calls For Ban On Circumcision
|url=https://newspunch.com/sweden-democrats-party-calls-for-ban-on-circumcision/
|last=Harris
|first=Niamh
|coauthors=
|publisher=News Punch
|website=
|date=2018-10-05
|accessdate=2021-03-13
|quote=
}}</ref>
Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson resigned after the 2022 election results became known to make way for a government by a four-party conservative coalition.<ref>{{REFnews
|title=Sweden election: PM Magdalena Andersson resigns after right-wing victory
|url=https://www.dw.com/en/sweden-election-pm-magdalena-andersson-resigns-after-right-wing-victory/a-63117673
|last=
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=
|init2=
|author2-link=
|publisher=Deutsche Welle
|website=
|date=2022-09-15
|accessdate=2022-09-22
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref>
Swedish conservative leader Ulf Kristersson was on Monday, 17 October 2022, elected prime minister in parliament as the head of a new government backed for the first time by the Sweden Democrats.<ref>{{REFnews
|title=Swedish parliament elects new prime minister
|url=https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202210/1277345.shtml
|last=
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=
|init2=
|author2-link=
|publisher=Global Times
|website=
|date=2022-10-18
|accessdate=2022-10-18
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref>
The [https://foreskinned.com/ Foreskinned company] manufactures foreskin restoration devices in Sweden.
The percentage of males [[circumcised]] in Sweden (prevalence) is reported to be 5.1%.<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>
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Intakt Norden]]
* [[Intact Sweden.org]]
* [[The Whole Network of Sweden]]
{{REF}}
[[Category:Sweden]]
[[Category:Europe]]
[[Category:Circumcision]]
[[Category:Male circumcision]]