Volume 1, Issue 1
Summer 2015
15 Square, the working name of NORM-UK
15 Squared
NORM-UK ENTERS A NEW ERA
Special points of
interest:
 AGM and conference
Our rebrand is finally underway. We have a new working name
15 Square and a new website with a lot of new features.
Our new website is http://www.15square.org.uk/ and you can link
through to our facebook page. We are making several major
changes including a members only section and a section where
you can post your own stories.
We are also going to make greater use of surveys. One of our
first will be a survey for teenage boys. Hopefully this will let us
know what boys are taught about the function of their foreskin
and in what format they want the information.
 Personal stories
 Database of circumcisions
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
AGM
1
A tale of two cultures
2
Sex in class
4
Teenage survey
5
Database of circs
6
Personal stories
7
Online petition
10
AGM and conference
Our Annual General Meeting and conference will be held Stone
Station Community Centre, Stone, Staffordshire ST15 8ER on
Saturday 12th September 2015 starting at 10.30am. Speakers to
be confirmed. The event is open to members and non members.
The cost to attend is £25 which includes refreshments and a
buffet lunch.
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A tale of two cutting cultures
Jonathan Meddings
Photo courtesy of James Loewen
President Obama recently toured Kenya and gave a powerful speech in which he
labelled female genital mutilation a bad tradition that has no place in the 21st
century. This remains a controversial thing to say in Kenya, where more than a
quarter of women aged 15 to 49 are living with mutilated genitals, and Obama should
be commended for saying it. But it is ironic (to say the least) that a speech condemning
female genital mutilation was delivered by the leader of a country where more than half
of newborn boys have their genitals mutilated every year; a country that also happens
to be leading the charge in a campaign to circumcise millions of African boys and men
based on bad evidence it reduces HIV transmission. But male genital mutilation is also
a bad tradition that has no place in the 21st century. Of course, many people don’t view
male circumcision as mutilation, and this double standard is exemplified by the case of
Chase Hironimus.
Florida mother Heather Hironimus went into hiding with her son Chase in March to
prevent his court-ordered circumcision. The verdict, delivered by Palm Beach County
Judge Jeffrey Gillen, was the result of a lengthy battle with Chase’s father Denis Nebus,
who will stop at nothing to circumcise his now four-year-old son. In May, Hironimus was
found and arrested for failing to appear in court and refusing to hand over her son. After
a short-lived federal court challenge withdrawn by Hironimus because it appeared
hopeless, and with the fear of gaol and losing custody of her son, she broke down in
court and signed a consent form authorising Chase’s circumcision. With the consent
form signed and Chase currently in the charge (one simply cannot stand to say in the
'care') of his father, it seems the worst is about to happen.
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1
PAGE 3
Were this story about a parent running off with their daughter to save her from having her
genitals cut, the United States would grant them both asylum, but because this story is
about a boy, they were instead on the run from the law to save Chase from having his
genitals mutilated by court order. This double standard is precisely why Chase may soon
join the millions of other boys who are circumcised every year in the United States as
unconsenting minors. In many of these cases the main reason boys are circumcised is so
they match their fathers.
It’s a bizarre logic that says a father should be allowed to cut his son’s genitals so they
match. Imagine if a father with tattoos said the same thing before tattooing his son. Much
like circumcision, tattooing is a painful, effectively irreversible procedure (barring painful
laser surgery). But even if the consequences weren’t permanent this would still seem
strange. Imagine if I cut someone’s hair without their consent (say I did so whilst they
slept) so our hairstyles matched. You would rightly regard me as domineering if not
completely insane. I fail to see how cutting another’s genitals without their consent is any
different, except that unlike hair, genitals do not grow back.
So why do people make an exception to our common understanding of bodily integrity and
autonomy when it comes to male genitals? One reason is because people think religious
freedom should allow parents to practice ritual circumcision of children (although in the
United States most male circumcisions aren’t performed for religious reasons, and
religious freedom isn’t taken as an excuse for cutting girls). But the ritual act of cutting a
child’s genitals actually violates the religious freedom of the child, who isn’t given a chance
to grow up and decide if they want to follow Judaism or Islam.
Another reason is people think circumcision is more hygienic. When I was born my father
wanted to circumcise me because like many people he thought this was true. Thankfully
my grandfather (on my mothers side) was a doctor, and he said they might as well cut off
my ears so I don’t have to clean behind them either. Common sense prevailed, and today I
still have both my ears, and my foreskin too. Most people don’t realise the foreskin is fused
to the head of the penis until around the age of puberty, which serves to protect it. Should
a baby be circumcised, there’s certainly nothing hygienic about a bloody wound in a dirty
diaper for months while it heals from surgery. Left intact, once the foreskin eventually
retracts on its own (one shouldn’t force it to), one can simply clean behind it with water.
Yet another reason people circumcise their sons is because many think there are medical
benefits to the procedure that justify it. One can argue about the medical benefits of
circumcision all day. In fact we’ve been arguing about them for well over 100 years, since
the practice of cutting boys and girls first started to be popularized in Western countries as
a means of stopping masturbation, and curing sexually transmitted diseases like syphilis,
neurological disorders like epilepsy, and imagined disorders like homosexuality. In case
you aren’t already aware, circumcision failed spectacularly to do any of these things.
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Today new potential benefits are imagined, and it is claimed circumcision can prevent
everything from cancer to HIV infection. But even if such medical benefits exist and
outweigh the risks of the procedure, the fact remains there are better alternatives to
cutting off healthy tissue. That’s why the American Academy of Paediatrics doesn’t
recommend routine infant circumcision as a preventative health measure, they merely
argue the benefits outweigh the risks and don’t oppose the procedure. It should also be
noted the view the benefits outweigh the risks is not one shared by medical
associations elsewhere in the developed world, with some in Europe even calling for
male circumcision to be banned unless absolutely medically necessary, which it almost
never is.
Importantly, the presently claimed medical benefits of male circumcision relate to
reducing the risk of 1) urinary tract infections easily treated with antibiotics, 2) sexually
transmitted infections that can’t be acquired until the age of sexual maturity (when one
is old enough to consent to circumcision themselves), and for which condom use,
vaccination and monogamy remain less invasive and more effective alternatives, and 3)
penile cancer, a rare disease that usually only affects older men and has good
treatment outcomes. And it’s not like anyone would advocate cutting out the mammary
glands of young girls to prevent breast cancer.
The medical benefits of male circumcision are debatable; that it violates medical ethics
when performed without consent is not.
The arguments supporting male circumcision – that it’s more hygienic, has medical
benefits, looks better, or should be permitted because of tradition, religion, or because
a lot of people do it – were all once used to support female circumcision in the West,
and still are in less civilised parts of the world. Female circumcision is a practice we
now outlaw, and a euphemism we’ve abandoned, because we recognise genital cutting
of girls for what it really is – female genital mutilation. There will come a day when we
also view male circumcision as mutilation, but for Chase and many other boys that day
won’t come soon enough.
Sex in class
Sex in Class http://www.channel4.com/programmes/sex-in-class
is a Channel 4 programme where Belgian sexologist Goedele Liekens launches a new
kind of sex education for 15 to 16 year olds in a Lancashire school.
Iris Fudge watched the episode broadcast on 6th August. Iris sent the following report:
The programme featured a class of pupils 15-16 years old from a school in Lancashire
receiving sex education with a 45 minute exam from a Belgian sexologist Goedele
Liekens the UN Goodwill Ambassador for Sexual Health, which lasted two weeks. It
was modelled on classes taken in Holland and the Netherlands. Classes cover the joy
of sex as well as it's dangers and there is free discussion about masturbation and it's
normality.
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1
PAGE 5
The programme is available to view and is also on i/player.
Stark evidence emerged of the ubiquitous and iniquitous influence of pornography on the
attitudes of teenagers, especially boys. Liekens was shocked by the attitudes she found in
British classrooms. The boys have 'learned' how to behave from online porn and because
they appear self confident the girls think the boys know what they are doing. Girl's pubic
hairlessness is one requirement, so Liekens persuaded one boy to shave his off and
endure the discomfort of when it re-grew.
Liekens brought props to demonstrate the vulva in order to let the pupils know their bodies
better and overcome the negative attitudes girls have with no idea where the clitoris is; the
boys had to learn this too. She encouraged the girls to feel more confident about their
bodies and become empowered in making choices in sexual encounters.
Liekens worked with the teachers too and proposes that our government introduce a
compulsory GCSE in sex education. Amen to that!
BUT at no stage was there any reference to demanding a description of mail genital
anatomy and physiology that would enable both sexes to learn about the normal mail
penis and educate the teachers as well.
Teenage survey
The majority of enquiries we receive are from teenage boys who are having problems with
their foreskin.
A few years ago we put a survey on our site asking teenagers what they had been taught
about their foreskins, how much they knew about the function of the foreskin, if they knew
what circumcision was, if they had a problem with their foreskin who they would talk to
about it and If they were told they needed surgery on their foreskin and did not want it
would they say so.
The results were interesting. They all said that nobody had discussed the issue with them.
Many had reached their teenage years without realising that the foreskin could move and
many were surprised and shocked when it did. Parents do not feel comfortable discussing
this with their sons and school sex education teachers avoid the subject. Most were
ignorant about circumcision and some were not aware that tissue is removed.
When asked who they would talk to if they had a problem, they nearly all said that they
would search online. Unfortunately some of the information online is misleading and
dangerous.
We are reinstating the original survey on our new website and hopefully the results of the
survey will enable us to provide the help teenagers need to avoid circumcision and to
have a proper functioning foreskin. We are also including a section on the survey for boys
who no longer have their foreskin.
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Dr Antony Lempert, Secular Medical Forum
It is good to hear Dr Antony Lempert trying once again to raise the issue of nontherapeutic with the BMA who seem determined to ignore the issue
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnuIpaXEP28&feature=share
Database of circumcisions
A report in The Local in Denmark http://www.thelocal.dk/20150806/denmarkscircumcision-registry-illegal states that a database of boys circumcised in Denmark was
kept without the proper authority and will now be deleted after intervention by the health
minister. However, the Danish People’s Party spokeswoman Liselott Blixt said that her
party supports a legal database over circumcised boys.
The database was rejected on the grounds that it would reveal the religion of circumcised
boys, as circumcisions in Denmark are largely only performed on Jewish and Muslim
children. Both Jewish and Muslim groups have condemned the illegal registry. This in
nonsense. If a child was born to Muslim or Jewish parents it would be assumed that they
were circumcised.
The World Health Organization estimates that roughly one third of the global male population is circumcised, with almost 70 percent of those being Muslim but if nobody is keeping accurate records how can this be verified?
If no records are kept how can a victim take action against the doctor or practitioner who
circumcised him?
In October 2012 we had a meeting with the General Medical Council (GMC) where we
suggested there was a need for formal registration of the procedure to record who was
circumcised, when, where, how and by whom. It was added that adequate records
needed to be kept and audits carried out. It was agreed by all present that this was essential. However, the GMC refused our request for subsequent meetings to discuss this
matter.
I think it is time for a serious worldwide campaign for a register of circumcisions.
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1
PAGE 7
The use of ‘Un’ David Smith
In a letter to the editor in Clinical Anatomy the writer, William G Wallace from The
Department of Biology, College of Staten Island, New York argues the case for Redefining
Human Penis Types. He says that the use of the prefix “un” in some cases can convey the
idea that a previous condition had been reversed—as in unsubscribed. As such,
uncircumcised may better describe a penis that had previously been in the circumcised
state, but, as a result of either surgical or non-surgical foreskin restoration, is now in the
uncircumcised (or reversed-circumcised state
Wallace states that there would then be three useful, respectful, and scientifically sound
terms to refer to the possible penis types that exist: intact (those in the natural state),
circumcised (those with the prepuce removed), and uncircumcised (those with a restored
prepuce or pseudo-prepuce) (as the previous circumcision has been undone).
I have always preferred the term normal to describe the intact penis but perhaps Wallace
has a point.
Personal stories
Our new website has a section devoted to personal stories.
Please consider posting your own story You do not need to reveal your identity. Here
are a few examples of stories posted so far on the site.
Posted on 25/06/2015 by Anonymous
I first found out that I was circumcised when I was in my early teens. I had noticed that I
was different from my friends but assumed that I had been born deformed. One day a
friend was talking about circumcision and I asked him what he meant. He told me that I
was circumcised. The shock of finding out that somebody had actually amputated a part
of my body and not told me hit me like a hammer. I have never got over that shock.
I suffered a breakdown in my early twenties and was referred to a psychiatrist. The
psychiatrist refused to believe that anyone could have negative feelings about
circumcision and that I was using this as a cover for some other major problem. The
interview was a total disaster. I left feeling as though I had been sexually abused by a
dirty old man.
Posted on 16/07/2015 by Anonymous
As a child I was very confused. At first thought every boys penis was like mine but
when i was aged 7 a friend showed me his with a foreskin.I was bewildered and I came
to the conclusion that there were different sorts of penises but I did not know why.
When I was aged 11, I was sent to a boarding school where there was quite a lot of
nudity and I gradually (with the help of books) came to understand what had been
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done to me. Around the same time I overheard my mother telling a neighbour that I had
been circumcised because it was “So much cleaner”. But I loved the look of an intact
penis and felt I had been deprived. I did not get married until I was aged 33. Until then
my wife had never seen a circumcised penis and found it rather odd and my love
making was never very satisfactory. I think that by then I had lost a great deal of
sensitivity.
It was not until I was aged 70 (and after my wife had died) that I discovered it was
possible to restore the foreskin to some extent and, as I did so, I realised that I had
never really discovered the creative joy of sex and now it is too late.
I hope I have made up for it by ensuring that my sons were not circumcised
Posted on 20/06/2015 by Anonymous
I had an episode of urinary retention when I was eight years old and was taken to the
GP by my father. The doctor examined me and attempted to retract my normal, non
retractable, foreskin. There was no cracking, no scarring and no pus. The GP
prescribed a sickly antibiotic syrup and I was better within a couple of days.
A week later, I attended the GP’s surgery again with my father. I was again subjected to
the same examination before being told to leave the room and go to sit in the waiting
area. Obviously the discussion was nothing to do with me. When he emerged, my father
told me that everything was alright, but that it was important to ensure that this never
happened again. So I would have to see a specialist and I might need to have an
operation.
The specialist subjected me to the now familiar attempts to retract the foreskin. I had
never seen a glans, and had no idea what he was looking for. He said pompously “We’ll
do it. We no longer do it in children below the age of about four, but at his age we can
we’ll do it”. I had no idea what was to be done, so I asked my father afterwards. He told
me that it was a minor thing, quite safe and everything would be alright. Nothing to
worry my little head about. Nothing more was said until I was wakened early one
morning to go to the hospital. I had remained symptom free.
I was not properly awake that day after the op, and only had vague awareness of my
parents visiting that evening. There was no physical pain. I only awoke properly from the
anaesthetic on the following morning my ninth birthday. Words cannot describe the
terror of looking down to find my penis grotesquely and permanently altered. Suffice it to
say that I have relived that terror daily in the years since. A Triang Hornby Electric
locomotive was little consolation for having part of my penis cut off.
The consultant examined my scarred member and said “Oh, yes, that’s beautiful”. I was
speechless. My father (not circumcised) said “Oh oh, I hadn’t expected it to turn out like
that still it’s a real man’s one now”. So much for informed proxy consent by the parent. I
overheard one of his friends asking if I felt ashamed of it and he told them that I was
showing it off. In fact I was wondering how I would hide it for evermore.
.
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1
PAGE 9
My secret could not be kept forever, and soon enough I was teased by my school friends
for my differing genitals “Dolly’s had an operation on his dick come and look it’s been
rounded off at the end”. Changerooms and communal showers remain places of fear and
loathing for me. Furthermore, I have been in continual discomfort since the operation and I
do not know how much sexual function I have lost.
Partners stories
Posted on 23/06/2015 by Anonymous
I must admit that I had never given a thought on circumcision until this issue suddenly
came up in my own relationship. I was shocked to hear that someone close to me had
been hurt this way and I felt kind of stupid as I noticed that I had never even thought about
male circumcision before this happened. I felt an anger growing in me as I got to know
more about the harm it had caused and would continue to cause. All this had a deep
impact on me and I felt sorry for him for what had been done. These feelings had been
buried inside him for such a long, long time and I was the first person to know of these
well-hidden feelings of pain, grief and shame. I found myself wondering how many boys
and men out there were carrying the same burden and had no one to turn to.
It is difficult for me to imagine something else that could cast a shadow over a man’s life in
so many levels. For example, if a person falls victim to a rape or incest, everybody agrees
on what is right and what is wrong in that situation. The victim will be offered help and the
perpetrator will be punished. It is cruel to think that when a person is violated through
circumcision, he won´t get any help or sympathy but instead can be ridiculed and treated
like an idiot. Many of these men who suffer will have to carry this shame with them for the
rest of their lives. Having been laughed at for trying to get help, they might not try to share
their feelings ever again. I cannot grasp how doctors, who are there for the sick and weak,
can violate a persons´ body and mind in such a profound way.
Even though I won’t be able to completely understand how it feels for a man to be injured
this way, I am doing my best to give my support and love. Our sex life will always be
circumcised both physically and mentally and we are both forced to live with the
consequences of this “little snip”.
Tell your story on our website https://www.15square.org.uk/tell-your-story/
Please tell us how loss of your foreskin has affected you. If you tick consent to publish,
your story and nom-de-plume will appear on our site. Your name and other information will
not.
Please login or register to tell your story
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Online petition
Dr Balvinder Mehat – described as “very aggressive” circumcised a child against his
mother’s express wishes.
There is now an online petition to have him struck off the medical register. https://
www.change.org/p/crown-prosecution-and-general-medical-council-to-resign-dr-mehat-frompractising-further-procedures-until-they-can-guarantee-that-he-is-following-correct-guidelinesto-do-so?
Justice for my son Nottingham, United Kingdom
Petitioning Crown Prosecution Service and General Medical Council
To Resign Dr Mehat from practising further procedures
until they can guarantee that he is following correct
guidelines to do so!
On the 30th of July 2013, my son aged 3 months was brought to this man and a non
medical surgical procedure took place without my knowledge or consent. For any child's
procedure to take place legally, the surgery must ask for the child's birth certificate and
the named guardians on the birth certificate must sign their consent. This did not
happen!!!
I can not put into words the distress this has caused myself and my son has no doubt
suffered during the process I witnessed the healing myself and it was very
unpleasant. Please help us get some kind of closure and justice and stop this
happening again I have heard nothing but bad feed back about the Doctor these are
openly available for your viewing on google.
Upon calling the clinic they wouldn't take any complaint as the Doctor works privately for
himself. The Doctor did however call me back and was rude and abrupt 'he'd spoken to
his solicitor and it was all my fault.'
I know some responsibility lies with the the child's father who was absolutely clear what
he was doing but by law had no rights and shouldn't of been allowed to do so, so easily
the police are dealing with All involved parties.
Please sign our petition to remove this Doctor from practicing on innocent children as he
is clearly not following the correct guidelines and conducting his surgery appropriately!!!
3 Aug 2015 — Daily mail shed a national light on our story although vague it confirms Dr mehat has no
comments to back his actions this is his second paper appearance the first was due to an unrelated fine
he was given for also abusing his position he is still under a warning tho until next year!!
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1
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NEWS
8-Day-Old Baby Boy’s Penis Reattached After Botched Brit Ceremony
http://www.inquisitr.com/2320782/circumcision-gone-wrong-8-day-old-baby-boys-penis-reattached-afterbotched-brit-ceremony/
t sounds like every new parent’s worst nightmare when sending their newborn son off to
have a circumcision. An 8-day-old baby’s penis was reattached after a circumcision went
wrong, reports Israel Hayom.
The publication calls the circumcision a brit, which is also termed the “Brit Milah,” according
to Chabad. It’s a ceremony that represents one of the oldest and most revered practices of
Judaism — practiced by those of Jewish heritage and also by certain Christians who don’t
normally term it a “brit” or “bris” ceremony. Either way, circumcision usually only involves
foreskin removal and holds a deep spiritual significance for those who view it as more than
a surgery to help with genital cleanliness.
“The brit, ritual circumcision, is a symbol of our partnership with G‑d. Etched in
the flesh of our physical bodies, the covenant will never end or be forgotten.”
The circumcision of the baby in question went wrong and was somehow botched. However,
the quick-thinking family was able to save the infant’s penis by storing the dismembered
member on ice until such time that it could be reattached successfully at the Rambam
Healthcare Campus Hospital’s Pediatric Emergency Unit.
The cringeworthy event has caused the article about the baby boy out of northern Israel to
go viral worldwide, with more than 1,300 Facebook recommendations on the piece thus far.
The “mohel” — defined as “a Jewish person trained in the practice of brit milah, the
covenant of circumcision” — generally possess special skills and training in the delicate
practice of performing circumcisions prior to being allowed to conduct such a surgery on an
infant. Usually, the mohel first recites a blessing prior to performing the circumcision. It is
unclear what specifically went wrong in this case of the botched circumcision that occurred
this week. However, reports indicate that the mohel cut part of the baby boy’s urethra along
with the foreskin.
Benjamin Hardak is the name of the senior pediatric urologist who reattached the baby’s
severed penis. Indeed, Hardak MD, is listed as “Attending Physician, Department of
Urology” on the Rambam Healthcare Campus website. Dr. Hardak was hopeful about the
baby’s chances of complete recovery but cautioned that taking a wait-and-see approach is
what’s needed next.
“We are optimistic about the baby’s chances of recovery. These kind of
procedures are relatively rare. The operation was a success and we are
optimistic about the baby’s chances of recovery, but it is still too soon to know
what the ramifications will be for the baby. We are monitoring his condition
closely.”
The baby was admitted to the ICU after the surgery. As reported by the Inquisitr,
circumcisions can be controversial, especially when parents disagree about whether to
have the procedure performed. Botched circumcisions account for fewer than 1 percent of
cases — and those few cases generally involve excessive bleeding
15 Square, the working name of NORM-UK
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Trustees of 15 Square
Chair and Founder Dr John Warren, MB BChir DCH FRCP
Vice Chair - Dr Peter Ball MA, MB, BChir
Secretary - Patrick Smyth
Treasurer - Margaret Green
Women’s Group Co-ordinator - Iris Fudge
Committee Members:
Justine Eardley-Dunn, Tony Peters.
Archivist & Researcher - John Dalton BSc, MSc
General Manager David Smith
Honorary Advisors:
Gaye Blake-Roberts
Patrons:
Prof Jack Cohen, Mary Cronk MBE, Alan Cumming, Brian Sewell.
Published by NORM-UK Registered Charity No: 1072831