European Circumcision Debate to be Broadcast Live

In October the Council of Europe, an organization of 47 member States, overwhelmingly passed a non-binding resolution that called circumcision, among other procedures, a violation of the physical integrity of children according to established human rights standards.

Ronald Goldman, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Circumcision Resource Center

(BOSTON) - The Council of Europe will host an interdisciplinary dialogue about circumcision at a meeting in Strasbourg, France on January 28. The hearing will bring together experts and will be streamed live on the Internet at http://assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/News/News-View-EN.asp?newsid=4839&lang=2&cat=8 starting at 8 am eastern time. A recording of the event will be available for two weeks at the Council of Europe website. Ronald Goldman, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Circumcision Resource Center, a nonprofit educational organization in Boston, has been invited to participate.

There is a growing European debate about circumcision. In October the Council of Europe, an organization of 47 member States, overwhelmingly passed a non-binding resolution that called circumcision, among other procedures, a violation of the physical integrity of children according to established human rights standards. Circumcision is uncommon in Europe except among Jews and Muslims.

As the only non-European invited to this meeting, Dr. Goldman said, “I look forward to contributing to the effort to raise awareness about circumcision in Europe in light of its physical, sexual, and psychological harm.” He is the author of Circumcision: The Hidden Trauma and Questioning Circumcision: A Jewish Perspective.

Information from the Circumcision Resource Center and the Jewish Circumcision Resource Center (a section of the CRC) was used to support the Council’s report on the resolution. There solution, which received international media attention, urges member States to raise awareness, provide training, initiate public debate, and promote an interdisciplinary dialogue about the procedures.

Other invited guests to the meeting include an official representative of the French Jewish community, a representative of the Muslim community from Turkey, and a medical professional from Germany.