Lap-dancing clubs exploiting women

11:25am Friday 4th April 2008

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Since 2005, Brighton and Hove has seen five strip clubs open. It is a similar situation in the rest of Sussex.

Here, Hove Labour MP Celia Barlow argues there should be a change in the law to stop lap-dancing establishments being as easy to license as a café or ballet school.

Lap-dancing clubs and places that offer "exotic dancing" create the impression that paying for sex and objectifying women is acceptable in our society.

The increasingly sophisticated marketing and advertising of such venues, usually aimed at an upmarket clientele, show that such views are becoming more prevalent than they already are.

It has been a progressive decade for women's rights, but the spread of these clubs lead to the normalisation of paying for sex and exploiting women, and thus an erosion of hard fought-for rights.

Lap-dancing has been linked by research to prostitution, human trafficking and an increase in sex crimes against women.

For example, a 2003 report by the Lilth Project found that the rate of sexual assault increased by 50 per cent in Camden following the opening of lap-dancing clubs in the area.

The proliferation of such clubs has helped normalise the commercial sex industry and has implicitly promoted paying for sexual services as a legitimate activity.

The 2003 Licensing Act has made it easier for clubs and pubs to obtain licences for adult shows.

Under the current rules, councils are severely restricted in their powers to reject such licence applications if they feel they are inappropriate.

The loopholes in the Act effectively mean lap-dancing establishments are now licensed in the same way as cafés and ballet schools.

The recent increase in the number of such clubs in Brighton and Hove since the introduction of the 2003 Licensing Act show the legislation isn't working as it should.

I have seen the impact of this in my own constituency.

The Portland Hotel in Portland Road, Hove, recently applied for a licence to host regular exotic dance nights, causing much upset to the local community.

The pub is at the heart of a residential community and is close to schools, youth groups and places of worship, making it an entirely inappropriate location for such events.

While Brighton and Hove's licensing committee turned down the application, the landlord has appealed to the magistrates' court and experience from other areas of the country shows that decisions by councillors are often overturned by the courts.

Other places right across the country have faced similar battles and it is only right that the communities affected by these decisions have the final say on the matter.

Among MPs and peers in Parliament there is a strong coalition for a change in the law. Together with Object, the campaign group against the objectification of women and the normalisation of the porn and sex industries, local authorities and politicians of all parties want a review of the 2003 Licensing Act.

We want strip clubs, lap-dancing clubs and other venues that put on adult shows to be classified as "sex encounter establishments".

This would make them part of the sex industry and allow councils to have greater control and influence over them for the benefit of our communities.

Along with city councillor Gill Mitchell, I recently met Government minister Gerry Sutcliffe who has responsibility for licensing, to ask him to announce a review of the law.

The following day he announced that he was looking into the possibility of a review and also promised to consult with Government colleagues over a permanent change in the law.

Other colleagues have met with Government ministers urging them to call for a review and the responses have been encouraging.

But we need to keep the pressure up to ensure such reviews take place and close the loopholes so that power is handed back to local communities.

You can sign a petition in support of our campaign at www.celiabarlow.org.uk.