Section 156 — Offence of carrying out hymenoplasty: Northern Ireland

Extent: N.I.

This version in force from 2022-07-01

Snapshot: 2026-08-24

Reproduced from legislation.gov.uk (Crown Copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0). Amendments made after 2026-08-24 may not be reflected — always check the official text .

(1) It is an offence under the law of Northern Ireland for a person to carry out hymenoplasty.

(2) “Hymenoplasty” means the reconstruction of the hymen (with or without consent).

(3) An offence is committed under subsection (1) only if the person—

(a) is in Northern Ireland, or

(b) is outside the United Kingdom, and is a United Kingdom national or habitually resident in Northern Ireland.

(4) “United Kingdom national” means an individual who is—

(a) a British citizen, a British overseas territories citizen, a British National (Overseas) or a British Overseas citizen,

(b) a person who under the British Nationality Act 1981 is a British subject, or