Dysfunctional isn't a strong enough word

Not when it comes to this family, anyway.

A 39-year-old woman forcefully had her 13-year-old daughter's genitalia pierced to make it uncomfortable for her to have sex, the girl told jurors in her mother's child abuse trial.

The girl, now 16, told jurors Wednesday that her mother asked a tattoo artist friend in 2004 to shave the girl's head to make her unattractive to boys and later held her down for the piercing.

"She was trying to protect me, but it hurt me," the girl testified. "It not only hurt me physically, but it hurt me mentally. ... That's emotionally scarring. That's physical abuse."

Prosecutor Steve Maresca said the mother called on a friend to shave the girl's head and do the piercing after realizing that she had been having sex, including with the mother's boyfriend.

Should there be any family reunions in the future (which seems unlikely, at this juncture) they're going to be awkward.