Laws for minor interventions

There are several laws for minor interventions, compared to genital mutilation of minors, which show the double standards in many countries on behalf of protecting children.

Contents

Spanking

In many countries, spanking children as education measure was common until recently. More and more countries now forbid violence against children by law.

Germany

In 2000, Germany finally forbid violence against children as a parental right. See § 1631 BGB.

Sweden

Already in 1979, Sweden became one of the first nations to forbid spanking children by law.

Body piercing

In many countries, piercing of minors is not allowed by law. Here is a list of some countries (to be continued):

Germany

Minors from 7 to 17 years are allowed to do business and contracts in the appropriation of their pocket money without consent of their parents, as German Civil Code states in section 110 (so-called pocket money paragraph). This is also true for body piercings and tattoos if the child is capable of discernment.

UK

There are basic standards that apply across Britain. The law prohibits piercing the genitals of anyone under 16, the age of sexual consent, or the nipples of a girl under 16. In England, there is no age limit for piercing tongues, boys’ nipples or less intimate body parts. In Scotland, any piercings, even of earlobes, require parental approval before age 16.

Area	Genitals	Nipples (female)	Tongue	Nipples (male)	Other body parts
Britain	16	16	16	16	16
England	16	16	0	0	0
Scotland	16	16	16	16	16
Wales	18	18	18	18	18

USA

The USA have varying state regulations for piercing minors. The following list has been adapted from the website painfulpleasures.com.

State	Age Limit	Approval			Offence	Penalty
		Written, informed consent from parent / legal guardian	Presence of parent or guardian during piercing	Additional obligations
Alabama	18	X			??	??
Alaska	18	X	X	The piercer must keep a copy of the written permission on file for a minimum of 3 years	Class B misdemeanor	??
Arizona	18		X		Class 6 felony	??
Arkansas	18	X	X		misdemeanor	fine between $20 and $200
California	18 (except ear piercings)		X	OR parent or guardian providing notarized approval	??	??
Colorado	18	X (express consent)			petty offense	$250 fine
Connecticut	18	X			??	??
Delaware	18	X			??	??
District of Columbia	free	-	-	-	none yet	??
Florida	18	X	X (optional)		??	??
Georgia	18	X			misdemeanor	??
Hawaii	free (16+ for navel and ear piercings in many shops)			(present valid photo ID in many shops) (nipple and genital piercings excluded)	??	??
Idaho	14 (except earlobe piercing)	X (in the presence of the person performing the piercing or an employee or agent of the piercer)			misdemeanor offense	fine of up to $500; 2nd offence within a year of the first one, they may be fined another $500 to $1,000
Illinois	18 (exception for emancipated or married minors)	X			Class C misdemeanor (Allowing a minor unaccompanied by a parent or legal guardian to step foot into a tattoo and piercing shop is deemed a Class A misdemeanor.)	??
Indiana	18	X	X		??	??
Iowa	free for piercings, 18 for tattoos			parental consent, some shops won't pierce or tattoo anyone under the age of 18 under any circumstances, even with parental consent		??
Kansas	18	X (notarized)	X	Piercers must keep copies of written permission to pierce minors on file for 5 years.	Class A misdemeanor	??
Kentucky	18	X (notarized)			??	??
Louisiana	18	X	X		??	fine between $100 and $500 and/or imprisoned for 30-100 days.
Maine	18 (some shops have different rules, e.g. 15+ for navels and noses, 16+ for eyebrows and tongues)	X			??	??
Maryland	18 (free for ear piercing)	X (in the presence of the piercer or his or her employee)				from $300 for a first offense to $3,000 for multiple violations
Massachusetts	18 (only for nipple and genital piercings)		X	(various guidelines in different shops)		??
Michigan	18	X (in the presence of the piercer or their employee)				??
Minnesota	18	X (witnessed)	X		misdemeanor	??
Mississippi	18 (except earlobe)	X			misdemeanor	??
Missouri	18	X (in the presence of a piercer or their agent)	X		misdemeanor	1st offense: up to $500, repeated offenses: additional $500 to $1,000.
Montana	18	X	X			fine up to $500 and/or imprisoned for up to 6 months. (A second offense may result in a fine of up to $1,000, up to 6 months in prison, or both.)
Nebraska	18	X	X	Piercers have to save written consent forms for at least 5 years.	unprofessional conduct	may jeopardize a piercer's license to practice
Nevada	18	X	X (in Clark County)	state- or school-issued picture identification must be provided both by the child and their guardian, and that a photocopy of the IDs must be kept on file with all related paperwork, which should include a signed release form		??
New Hampshire	18	X	X	Shops must maintain records of piercing minors for 7 years.		??
New Jersey	18	X			"disorderly persons offense"	??
New Mexico	18	X (e.g. Albuquerque City, hand-written and notarized; except ear piercing)	X if no written and notarized consent has been hand-delivered		unregulated	none
New York	18	X	X	Shops must keep consent forms on file for a minimum of 12 months.		??
North Carolina	18 (except earlobes)	X				??
North Dakota	18	X	X		misdemeanor to sell tattoo or piercing equipment to a minor	??
Ohio	18	X	X			??
Oklahoma	18	X	X		misdemeanor	up to 90 days of imprisonment, a fine of up to $5,000, or both
Oregon	18	X	X			If a facility fails to obtain a consent form prior to piercing a minor, though, they are violating state law and subject to disciplinary action.
Pennsylvania	18	X	X		3rd degree misdemeanor	fine of $100, imprisonment for up to 3 years, or both.
Rhode Island	18		X			??
South Carolina	18	not approvable	not approvable			??
South Dakota	18	X (required in many shops)			no state-wide regulations	??
Tennessee	18	X	X	They must also present proof of age, provide proof of guardianship or custody, and attest in writing that they are the minor's legal caretaker.	Class C misdemeanor	imprisonment for up to 30 days or a fine of up to $50.
Texas		X	The legal caretaker must provide evidence of their parental or guardian status and their consent must specify the part of the body to be pierced.			??
Utah	18	X		A piercer has to assign a personal ID number to a client and follow all proper protocol before piercing someone s/he did not know was a minor.	Class B misdemeanor	civil penalty of $1,000 for each violation
Vermont	18	X (most shops)	X (most shops)		no state-wide regulations, seen as "unprofessional conduct"	??
Virginia	18 (except ear piercings and piercings under the supervision of a medical doctor, registered nurse, or other medical personnel)		X		Class 1 misdemeanor	??
Washington	18 (for tattoos)	X (most shops)	X (most shops)		no rules	??
West Virginia	18 (for tattoos)	X (most shops)				??
Wisconsin	16-17	X	X	Piercing establishments are required to clearly post that it's illegal to pierce anyone under the age of 18 without a parent or guardian's informed written consent. Shops must maintain consent forms for 2 years after piercing anyone.	see: Wisconsin Administrative Code	??
Wyoming	18	X	X	Piercers must verify patrons' ages by examining proper identification.	misdemeanor	imprisonment for up to 6 months and/or a fine of up to $750

Tattoos

Europe

There is no special European law which defines age limits for tattoos on minors. Various European countries have different or even no regulations.

Country	With parent's consent	Without parent's consent	Law since	Special remarks
Austria	16	18
Belgium	??	??
Bulgaria	??	??
Cyprus	18	18
Czech Republic	??	??		no regulation found
Denmark	18	18	1966-06-15	Tattoos forbidden on head, neck, hands
Estland	??	??		no regulation found
Finnland	16	18
France	16	16
Germany	16	16
Greece	18	18		does not apply for permanent make-up
Hungary	??	??		no regulation found
Ireland	14-16	18		(many shops)
Italy	??	??
Kroatia	16	18
Latvia	??	??		no regulation found
Lithuania	??	??		no regulation found
Luxembourg	??	??		no regulation found
Malta	18	18
Netherlands	<16	16		Tattoo shop has to keep signed consent for 10 years.
Poland	??	??
Portugal	??	18
Romania	18	18
Slowakia	??	??		no regulation found
Slowenia	??	??		no regulation found
Spain	14-16	18
Sweden	18	18
UK	18	18	1969-05-16