Breast Ironing

The pounding, massaging or pressing of a pubescent girl's developing breasts with a heated object, most often a stone, spatula or grinding implement, typically performed by a mother or other female relative with the stated intention of delaying visible breast development to protect the girl from unwanted sexual attention, early pregnancy or early marriage. The practice is documented most extensively in Cameroon, where studies have found it affects a substantial share of adolescent girls, and international bodies including the United Nations have identified it as one of a small number of severely underreported forms of violence against girls worldwide, causing documented physical harm such as tissue damage, infection and impaired breast development; as of current documentation Cameroon itself has not enacted legislation specifically criminalizing the practice, leaving prosecution, where it occurs, to fall under general child-abuse and assault statutes instead.