Welcome back to the blog, and welcome to quite a complex topic! Today we are talking about the intersection between female genital piercing, female genital mutilation (FGM), the UK Government, and the formation of the UKAPP. So, first things first: Did you know that consenting intimate piercings on female clients was considered Female Genital Mutilation, and carried a potential jail term of up to 14 years?
Wait, What?
Yes! In April 2015, new UK NHS guidelines were brought into effect after months of serious pressure from the Crown Prosecution Service. These guidelines added new rules for a wide range of medical professionals who are subject to Mandatory Reporting guides. In short, this meant that professionals like Doctors, Ob Gyns, Nurses etc, would be required by law to report any observations of potentially altered vulvas. This including reporting any female adult who had consented to a western-style (modern day) body piercing as Female Genital Mutilation. This would then open up the piercer to prosecution under UK law!
The FGM (Female Genital Mutilation) offences were set out in the 2003 FGM Act, which were then later amended in 2015 by the Serious Crime Act. There were 4 offences set out, including “assisting a girl to mutilate her own genitals”. Self-mutilation is not an offence, but assisting someone to do so is.
“A person is guilty of an offence if it is proved that:
- a girl has excised, infibulated or otherwise mutilated the whole or any part of her own labia majora, labia minora or clitoris, and
- the suspect has aided, abetted, counselled or procured this.” 1
At this point you may be thinking that surely we’ve over reacted to this? There’s’ no mention of piercing! Well, if we take a look at the World Health Organisation (WHO), they broke down FGM into 4 categories, the 4th one was the one that became detrimental to female genital piercings. “Type 4: This includes all other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for non-medical purposes, e.g., pricking, piercing, incising, scraping and cauterizing the genital area.”2
Due to this, female genital piercings became illegal overnight in the UK. It was safer for piercers to stop practicing intimate piercings. This protected both them and their clients.3
When did this change?
As of current (April 2024), we are now allowed to pierce the genitals of consenting adults once again! This is down to a lot of hard work from charities and piercers across the UK lobbying the government. The UKAPP was born out of the UK Piercer Meet Up (UKPMU). The UKPMU came together because of the change in the UK law of FGM. It was in Newcastle that a group of piercers grouped an informal meet-up to discuss what was needed to protect both our industry and peoples rights.4 This was the start of the United Kingdom Association of Professional Piercers (UKAPP). And from there they helped campaign to allow adult consenting women the freedom to have the choice of piercing their own bodies.
It was late 2019 (right before the pandemic) that piercers were once again allowed to pierce vulvas after the CPS released fresh guidance information. “The piercing of the female genitalia to adorn it with jewellery or other accessories purely for the purpose of personal decoration or in order to enhance the sensation of sexual contact, as commonly understood and practised, is unlikely to involve excision, infibulation or mutilation.”5
This meant that piercing Vulva’s was not likely to cause harm or mutilation to the consenting adult, allowing piercers to once again offer this wonderful service. And for that we can thank the tireless work of piercers, including the UKAPP and especially Lola Slider. Lola Slider (of Forest Piercing in Glasgow) was a massive voice and driving force behind the legislative change. Around the time of this change, Lola was the UKAPP president, and before then was nominated as Medical Liaison, and honestly did some amazing work during her time on the organisations board.
What happens now?
Despite the fact we now have the green light from the UK government to offer these services once again, doesn’t mean there isn’t limitations involved. Some local councils still refuse to allow studios to offer intimate piercings, and some have by-laws that will effect the process. This means that depending where in the country you get pierced, the appointment may look different or follow a different procedure.
For example: At Rogue, each client looking for intimate work has to have an intimate consultation a minimum of 24 hours before they get piercing. At this appointment, one of our piercers will thoroughly discuss with you the history of intimate piercings and the law changes, the aftercare, and what to expect during the heal.
However, the main limitation for intimate piercings, is that we are not allowed to pierce for function. We are only allowed to pierce for aesthetical reasons. This means we walk a fine line with our clients each and every appointment.
As adults, we are all aware that if you place metal into a sensitive part of your body (where it wasn’t before), then sensations might change. We are not allowed to discuss this with you. “purely for the purpose of personal decoration”5 We have clients get intimate piercings that come from all walks of lives and have so many different reasons to get pierced. Some want it purely for the looks, some want it for kink dynamics, some want it to reclaim ownership of their body. However, the minute a client may mention they want to ‘use’ the piercing, we can no longer pierce.
If you would like to know more about intimate piercings or the process here at Rogue, here are some attached links!
https://roguepiercing.co.uk/2023/05/12/vch-aftercare-101-vch-hch-piercings/
https://roguepiercing.co.uk/2021/06/11/female-intimate-piercings/
https://roguepiercing.co.uk/intimate-piercing-info/
To book a consultation or a piercing at Rogue you can book here.
Contact us.
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If you believe a girl is at risk, or has recently been a victim of FGM (Female Genital Mutilation” call the police on 999 (for urgent/emergency cases) or 101 for non emergency.
NHS ENGLAND FGM
FGM Nottingham Poster
Mandatory reporting procedure
FGM Resource Pack
If you, or someone you know has been a victim, please do not hesitate to reach our for support.
NSPCC FGM helpline – a 24-hour free helpline for anyone worried about FGM: 0800 028 3550.
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/female-genital-mutilation-fgm/national-fgm-support-clinics/
1 https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/female-genital-mutilation
2 https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/female-genital-mutilation
3 https://thepointjournal.org/2015/04/06/point-70-when-is-piercing-mutilation-paul-king/
4 https://ukapp.org.uk/history.html
5 https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/female-genital-mutilation