Updated September, Breast ironing is a painful practice where heated objects are pounded on the breasts of young girls to suppress the growth of their breasts. Nearly forty percent of children in Cameroon are married by their 18th birthday; more than a quarter of teenage girls are mothers; and twenty percent of girls drop out of school after becoming pregnant.
Breast ironing affects nearly four million girls and women around the world and is considered an under-reported crime relating to gender-based violence. The practice is also prevalent in refugee camps, where women and girls have reported sexual harassment by host communities and other refugees. Breast ironing is a form of physical mutilation that also damages a child's social and psychological wellbeing, and contributes to the high rate of school dropout among girls subject to the abuse.
In addition to causing pain, breast ironing can cause girls to feel shame over their bodies. Low self-esteem can affect girls in their career, education, or public and social life, and can give girls the impression that their breasts are wrongful, which can also cause anxiety, shame, and frustration. Very few studies have examined the impact of breast trauma, so most accounts of the medical consequences of breast flattening are anecdotal, [28] yet breast ironing exposes girls to numerous health risks, including abscesses on the breast, itching, abnormal discharges, infections, breast asymmetry, cysts, infections, fevers, tissue damage, and potentially the disappearance of one or both breasts.
The practice is ultimately ineffective, since it does not stop breasts from developing and it does not prevent unwanted male attention. There are no laws anywhere in the world that criminalize breast ironing by name or description. For example, there is no law in the United Kingdom that specifically criminalizes breast ironing, but it can be considered a form of physical abuse or child cruelty and be prosecuted under those criminal statutes.
Under international law, breast ironing is a form of violence against women and girls that violates basic human rights. Multiple treaties and human rights instruments reinforce the obligation of governments to commit to ending harmful practices. These international agreements highlight the right for girls and women to live free from gender discrimination and free from torture by reaffirming the right to dignity and bodily autonomy.
