The ear, lip, nose and belly button would be among a range of piercings legalised as long as the youngster had written consent from their parent or guardian. The proposals were published yesterday in the first requete of the States term and are likely to be debated by the Assembly next month.
A combination of trends on social media, Covid and the island’s current legislation, where islanders need to be 18 years old to get body piercings, has reportedly led to young people piercing themselves with single-use devices or needles.
Deputy Rhona Humphreys, one of the signatories of the requete, said she faced the problem when her daughter was 16.
‘Young people have been piercing themselves, but even with parental consent, licensed piercers can’t help them do it safely because of the law,’ she said.
‘It’s the type of issue that is important but doesn’t take priority because it’s so small, so I’m pleased we’re bringing this to the Assembly in a way that doesn’t waste anyone’s time.’
A group of seven politicians, led by Deputy Gavin St Pier, has already drafted the legislation necessary to make the changes, which they said would save the work being added to the list of outstanding tasks facing the law officers. The proposed changes, which would come into effect on 1 June 2026 if approved by deputies, would not include tattoos, for which the minimum age would remain 18.
‘Our legislation doesn’t include some piercings such as stretchers because those make long-term changes to the body. Tattoos fall under that, too,’ said Deputy Humphreys.
Lou Marley, owner and manager of Ashanti Piercing, said she had reached out to Deputy St Pier to change the legislation.
‘We have been working out which piercings can be done at aged 16 with parental consent, and that’s the important part, they have to have consent, and even if they’re with their parents, for some piercings they must be 18,’ she said.
Ashanti, which opened in 2001, used to operate with the policy proposed in the requete, and Mrs Marley said it worked well until a local teacher made a complaint because piercings did not conform with her school’s uniform policies.
‘Then there came a problem with people doing home piercings, buying kits from Shein or Temu,’ she said.
‘We tried hard to change it but then Brexit and Covid and other things happened and it just wasn’t a priority.
‘Some people were having it done in Jersey or the UK, but then you don’t know the shops. At least here people know we are responsible.’
The proposal would allow non-intimate body piercings on those aged 16 to 18 with written consent, but only when performed by a licensed operator.
Surface piercings, stretchers and flesh tunnels would still be banned for under-18s, aligning with other places in the UK.
Deputy Tina Bury, one of the signatories to the requete, said that the law as it stands was written in 2000.
‘Now it’s outdated and doesn’t correspond with either reality or best practice in other jurisdictions,’ she said.
‘The consequence is that teenagers are piercing or attempting to pierce their own bodies.’
During Covid, trends on social media promoted purchases of single-use piercing devices online for people to pierce themselves.
Health & Social Care president George Oswald said the committee would not adopt a formal position on the requete, and it was for individual members to decide their stance.
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