This archive report was first published on 21 July 2019.
On July 19, 2019, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in the UK issued new guidance to combat breast ironing, a practice that involves compressing a young girl's breasts to stop them developing.
According to the CPS, breast ironing is a form of child abuse that can lead to serious physical and mental harm, including cysts, infection, and scarring.
Chief Crown Prosecutor Jaswant Narwal stated, 'Our message is simple: breast ironing is child abuse. The practice inflicts serious damage on young girls and can leave them scarred physically and mentally for the rest of their lives.'
The CPS emphasized that although there is no specific law banning breast ironing in the UK, it can fall under the offenses of child cruelty and causing or allowing a child to suffer serious harm, both of which are punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Assault charges could also be brought, according to the legal guidance.
It is estimated that around 1,000 girls in the UK may have undergone breast ironing, according to the Came Women and Girls Development Organisation, a British charity that helps people from disadvantaged communities.
However, British-based charity Forward, which supports survivors of female genital mutilation (FGM) in African communities, has not come across breast ironing cases in the country so far.
