Letter to the mother who bought my daughter a binder

[MnaWoman]

Did you do the research that I did when I told her no?
The research that shows that 97% of women who wear binders go on to have at least one negative complication. Did you believe her when she said she’d wear it correctly? Did the 97% also promise that they would wear out correctly?

Will you also buy her puberty blockers as she wants those too?
Will you take her to a doctor when she develops osteoporosis in her 20s? I developed it in my 40s after having a normal puberty. It’s part of my family’s medical history. When she develops one of the common side effects of puberty blockers like depression will you tell her that this odd what she wanted?

Will you buy her cross sex hormones as she wants those too?
And when she needs a prophylactic hysterectomy on her 20s in order to mitigate against the increased risk of cancer will you look after her while she recovers? And when she has a painful sex like due to vaginal atrophy will you tell her that you were just doing what she asked?

My daughter is 13.

I found this via the CPS website, hopefully it will be of help to you OP

(emphasis mine)

Breast flattening

Breast flattening is the painful practice of bringing girls breasts into contact with hard or heated objects (which may vary in nature but may include stones, belts, pestles and heated implements) to suppress or reverse the growth of breasts by destroying the tissue. Breast flattening is often performed, particularly by family members, wishing to protect a girl from the appearance of puberty or being an adult woman in order to avoid any potential sexual interest, early pregnancy or sexual harassment or violence. There are potentially significant physical and psychological consequences and risks related to this practice.

Breast flattening is a form of child abuse. See the CPS legal guidance on Child Abuse. Where a prosecutor is asked to consider an allegation of breast flattening the offences for consideration include child cruelty (contrary to section 1(1) Children and Young Persons Act 1933), causing or allowing a child to suffer serious harm (contrary to section 5 Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004); and assault (contrary to sections 47, 20 or 18 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861). Prosecutors will consider whether it can be proved, on the victims account and/or other evidence, that an assault in the form of breast flattening took place and if so, who participated (either as principal or secondary party) in the breast flattening. Medical evidence should also be obtained to establish the level of injury and therefore the appropriate charge. The fact of an injury can be established with other evidence but medical evidence should assist in understanding the true physical impact of the assault, given the physical and psychological risks.

The evidence that the assault was committed without the consent of the child may be clear. However, in a family context it may be that the victim consented because of a shared belief in the need to undergo the practice, or because the victim agreed to what the family proposed or the family aided and abetted the flattening. Prosecutors should challenge the raising of consent as a possible defence: it is not possible to consent to an assault where the injury caused is more than transient and trifling : R v Brown (Anthony) [1994] 1 AC 212. This is subject to strict exceptions of which, it is submitted, breast flattening is not one. Responsible adults who aid and abet a girl, as the victim, in breast flattening should also be considered for investigation and prosecution.

www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/so-called-honour-based-abuse-and-forced-marriage

Prosecutors should challenge the raising of consent as a possible defence: it is not possible to consent to an assault where the injury caused is more than transient and trifling :

I'm assuming broken ribs and misshapen breasts isn't considered trifling.