R18 ruling for Vice magazine

Green Party MP Catherine Delahunty. Photo / Supplied

A magazine that showed images of young topless women tied to beds and ceilings has been told it must display R18 stickers.

The censor's ruling comes after the Herald on Sunday revealed that about 12,000 copies of the free magazine were available at clothing and music stores and cafes - with no age restrictions on who could take them.

Vice magazine published the Valentine's Day-themed images under the title "All Tied Up In Love" in March.

Children's rights campaigners said the pictures were blatant "sexual exploitation".

This month, the Office of Film and Literature ruled the offending copies should be restricted to over-18s.

Green Party MP Catherine Delahunty, who lodged the complaint, said it was a warning to not use violent imagery against women. "It might make them think twice," she said.

The R18 order applies retrospectively to the March edition of Vice.