Heather Bellamy spoke with CARE about the increasing numbers of young people who are requesting genital plastic surgery.

A ground-breaking Australian study has found that girls as young as 15 are asking their doctors for genital plastic surgery, with 35% of doctors having seen patients under 18 requesting it. Pornography has been given as the leading reason for girls' dissatisfaction with their genitals. CARE has been a leading voice urging the Government to develop robust measures to protect children online and Heather Bellamy spoke with Rachael Adams, the Press Officer for CARE, about the issue.

Heather: Without being too graphic, what genital plastic surgery are girls wanting?

Rachael: The Labiaplasty, which involves a reshaping around the vaginal area.

Heather: What sort of numbers are requesting it?

Rachael: The actual numbers aren't here with me but I think it's about a thousand young girls that are under the age of 24.

Heather: Is that in Australia?

Rachael: It is in Australia, yes.

Heather: Are the numbers going up or down?

Rachael: The numbers are going up. The doctor who carried out the report found that she needed to research more into it, because her patients were coming to her with more and more requests for this. So that is how the report got started.

Heather: Is it all age groups of women wanting it?

Rachael: Research has shown that it is increasing for under 30 year-olds, but the biggest age group that they have seen the increase in are women under the age of 24.

Heather: Why do girls and women want to have this cosmetic surgery?

Rachael: The main reason that has been highlighted by Doctor Magdalena Simonis, who carried out the study, was pornography.

Heather: Are under 18s able to get this surgery done in Australia when it's not for medical reasons?