Breast flattening
Also known as ‘breast ironing’, this is when pubescent girls' breasts are ironed, massaged or pounded down with hard and heated objects.
This is done to make them disappear or delay their development and is practised in Cameroon. It has also been reported in Benin, Chad, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea-Conakry, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Togo and Zimbabwe.
For more guidance on signs of this abuse, the law and what to do visit the National FGM Centre’s Breast Flattening web pages.
Secure area information
For training courses dealing with breast flattening visit our secure area.