Why are most Australian boys not circumcised?
Male circumcision lost favour in Britain in the 1940s, when the lack of necessity and the dangers of the operation were recognised These included bleeding, damage to the glans, excessive skin removal and 16 deaths a year in Britain alone (4). Australian paediatricians have discouraged the practice since the 1960s, with the result that the incidence of circumcision has fallen from over 70 per cent of boys during the 1960s to 49 per cent in 1973 and 39 per cent in 1980. At present about 12 per cent of Australian boys are circumcised, but there is wide variation among the states.
