ABSTRACT
Background The circumcision of a child may be discovered accidentally, as a result of a medical check-up or treatment for a common childhood illness. External to the clinical environment, a teacher, immigration caseworker or social worker, for example, may come into contact with a child or adolescent who displays physical and/or psychological symptoms of having undergone female circumcision. The police service or other authorities might encounter such cases in the course of investigations into breaches of national laws relating to prohibition of the practice inside their borders.
