{"id":5767,"date":"2020-08-31T12:15:51","date_gmt":"2020-08-31T11:15:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.jomec.co.uk\/life360\/?p=5767"},"modified":"2020-08-31T13:00:18","modified_gmt":"2020-08-31T12:00:18","slug":"a-tattoo-or-a-scar-sexual-assault-in-tattoo-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/a-tattoo-or-a-scar-sexual-assault-in-tattoo-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"A Tattoo or a Scar: Sexual Assault in the Tattoo Industry"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

News about tattooists taking advantage from clients evoked the #TattooMeToo movement. Is sexual assault in the tattoo industry common?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

After months of lockdown, restrictions are easing gradually within the UK. While shop owners and restaurants are experiencing the happiness of welcoming their first guest after nearly four months, there is another group of people who are excited and prepared to be back – the tattoo artists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although tattoo parlours in England have been allowed to reopen since July 13, staff and clients have to follow certain guidelines to reduce the spread of coronavirus. Attending alone is one of the guidelines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This restriction has raised some clients\u2019 concerns. A needle going through on your body can be painful. And being accompanied is a good way to reduce the pain and stress during the process. But to many guests, what makes them worried is not the pain, but the person who will tattoo them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTill today I feel unsafe staying with a man alone,\u201d said Sarah (name changed on request), who has been<\/font> sexually harassed by a male tattooist while being tattooed by him in London.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe kept touching my thigh while tattooing my leg,\u201d said Sarah. Although barely changing her facial expression, Sarah\u2019s voice lowered when she pointed out what exactly the man ha done. Then she was quickly back to normal, even a little excited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said: \u201cI couldn\u2019t tell if he did it on purpose- although now I\u2019m quite sure that he was- I didn\u2019t say anything. But I don\u2019t like that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several years have past, Sarah can\u2019t remember the name of the man anymore, the tattoo done by him is also covered by a new old-school style tattoo with thick lines and bold colors. But what she experienced from that man years ago taught her a lesson: Never walk into a tattoo studio alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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