Piercing crackdown in place

Body piercing operators will face stiff fines if caught piercing those aged under 18 with new Victorian laws now in place. Concerns remain that the move will push young people into unsafe backyard piercings.

Under the laws, which came into effect on January 1, anyone found giving a minor an intimate body piercing, including genital or nipple piercings, will face a fine of $6600.

The same penalty applies to commercial operators giving underage tattoos or performing scarification, tongue splitting, branding or beading.

It is also a $2200 punishable offence to perform non-intimate body piercing on a person, such as eyebrow or ears to those aged under 16 years without the consent of a parent or guardian.

Piercers will only be able to escape fines if they prove a client falsified their age by producing fake ID, such as a driver’s licence.

Body piercing studio owner Louise Hickman of The Piercing Urge in Prahran said although she strongly welcomes the moves, the crackdown may lead to an increase in backyard piercing.

-œWe’ve come a long way from getting the second earlobe piercing at the back of the sports oval to major piercings at parties on a Saturday night, she told Southern Star.

-œIt’s good to have the legislation on a professional level to help curtail some of the damage of those purporting to be proper body piercers and back up the parents because now it’s a breach of law.

Hickman said she would also like to see local government take a stronger role in inspecting body piercing premises, and said people approach her studio almost daily with piercings gone wrong.

Part of a steering committee for the Government’s new legislation, Hickman said she believes the age of consent is also important in case underage genital piercings mask abuse, -œhiding under the cover of a piercing.

Hickman said her business has been -œself-censoring the age of consent for years, largely because of angry parents. She is confident other businesses will comply.

-œThe better businesses will comply… but regulation is only as good as its monitoring.

-œMost good body piercing studios have their own age policies anyway and are usually more clean studios in my experience.

Deputy Premier and Attorney-General Rob Hulls said the new legislation was designed to involve parents and guardians in the decision-making process with young people about body piercing.

-œThe popularity of body art within the community is increasing and the possible health implications associated with body piercing can include the transmission of blood-borne viruses, infection, scarring and nerve damage, he said when the legislation was introduced.

-œThese new laws provide clear guidance for body piercers, and balance the rights of guardians and parents with the freedom of expression of young people.