Tattoo and body piercings in prison
As well as for injecting drugs, needle sharing in prison might occur when people receive amateur tattoos or body piercings from other people in prison. Without sterilised equipment, tattooing and body piercing are risk behaviours for contracting bloodborne viruses (Butler et al. 2010).
About 1 in 14 (7.2%) prison dischargees reported receiving a tattoo or body piercing while in prison (Indicator 2.2.11).
Prison dischargees were more likely to report receiving a tattoo (6.7%) than a piercing in prison (0.7%).
Over 1 in 5 (22%) of young prison dischargees (aged 18–24) reported receiving a tattoo or body piercing while in prison; every age group thereafter was less likely to report receiving a tattoo or body piercing while in prison (7.1–0%).
Butler T, Richters J, Yap L, Papanastasiou C, Richards A, Schneider K, Grant L, Smith A and Donovan B (2010) Sexual health and behaviour of Queensland prisoners: with Queensland and New South Wales comparisons, National Drug Research Institute, Curtin University, and School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of New South Wales, Perth and Sydney.