A former lap dancer and self-made millionaire has blasted a policy to shut strip clubs, warning it will put thousands of women's job at risk.
Chelsea Ferguson, who founded the popular adult content website, Admireme.vip, says British strip clubs could vanish by 2030, having 'devastating consequences' for the thousands of women employed in the sector.
There are currently around 300 lap dancing venues across the UK, but this number is set to shrink rapidly as councils across Britain are implementing a nil-cap policy which will effectively introduce blanket bans on future establishments opening up.
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This policy has incensed women's rights organisations and lap dancers themselves who have spoken out about the dangers of closing the establishments, Lancs Live reports.
They say it would put jobs at risk and force the profession underground, meaning dancers would be increased to a risk of harm.
New figures have shown that in Manchester, there hasn't been a single complaint lodged against a strip club since 2019. Victoria's was the only venue to face formal enforcement action in the past eight years, but has had its licence renewed this year.
Some of the complaints were linked to a sting operation in 2019, which caused much controversy after dancers said they felt "violated". A campaign group secretly filmed naked dances in Victoria's and Obsessions.
The group, Not Buying It, said they wanted to expose prohibited sexual contact. But dancers said they lived in fear of the footage being leaked and one union described the tactics as "revenge porn".
In Blackpool, politicians have already started to shut down lap dancing venues. This is despite the fact that Blackpool Council has not received any official complaints regarding its venues since 2019.
The council's new policy aimed at phasing out lap dancing clubs in Blackpool was used for the first time last year to turn down licence applications. An application for a new sexual entertainment venue (SEV) licence for Dreams in Queen Street was refused, along with an application for a new SEV licence for Mystique, also in Queen Street.
The council’s public protection sub-committee threw out both applications after deferring previous hearings to consider the submissions.
It follows formal adoption of the new policy in October 2021 which is aimed at eventually eradicating all lap dancing clubs from the resort. The then existing four clubs had been allowed to continue operating, but once those licences lapsed for any reason they would not be renewed.
A campaign has since been launched against the Government to try and stop councils from continuing with the policy. Campaigners argue that councils should instead support women who have a 'right to choose where to work'.
This campaign is backed by Ms Ferguson. "Lapdancing clubs have been a fixture in city centres for decades," she said.
"They are overwhelmingly safe spaces where women can choose to earn good wages. But women could have these opportunities snatched from them by politicians – often men – who think they know what’s best for females.
"In 2023, women should be able to choose freely how to earn a living. Instead, I fear that within a few years, strip clubs in the UK may cease to exist – along with opportunities for women – all because of a few busybody politicians who think they speak for an entire sector of women that they know nothing about.
"But stripping wouldn’t disappear, it would just be more dangerous for the women. Clubs have security, CCTV and strict rules to keep dancers safe, but those safety nets would vanish overnight – and that’s really scary."
Responding, a Blackpool Council spokesperson told LancsLive: "Although the number of premises in the policy has been reduced to zero, we currently have three licensed premises and they will be able to continue as long as they comply with the legislation and licence conditions.
"This means from the point of view of existing venues, nothing has changed by the policy that was introduced in 2021 and therefore there is no reason for this activity to go underground.
"However once the licence is surrendered or revoked, any new application would be considered against the limit of zero.
"Licences may reduce naturally by lack of demand for this activity, but lack of demand will mean that other operators will not wish to enter the trade. As with all Council policies, this policy will be subject to regular review and any concerns can be addressed during the review process."
A leading stag and hen do company launched a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to some of the biggest authorities in the UK, which shows that there has been no licencing complaints in the past seven years, despite lap dancing establishments being run up and down the country.
This includes establishments in top cities like Newcastle and Liverpool. The probe found there was no evidence of strip clubs promoting violence against women, with the majority of complaints to over 50 major councils, regarding noise or overly-saucy flyers.
Matt Mavir, Managing Director of Britain’s leading stag and hen firm, Last Night of Freedom, said: "Manchester is awash with lap dancing clubs yet the council hasn’t had a complaint in almost four years – In Glasgow, venues there haven’t troubled the licencing department since 2016.
"In that time, councils will have dealt with scores of complaints involving everything from pubs to takeaways. The reality is lap dancing venues are a safer place to work than many bars or pubs. There are cameras and very strict rules around what you can and can’t do, and those who choose to work there can potentially earn a very good wage.
"Around a quarter of dancers are degree educated, so suggesting that lap dancing exists solely to exploit vulnerable women is utter nonsense. Imposing a nil-cap basically tells women that they are incapable of making decisions for themselves, which is shockingly sexist and threatens their right to earn a living and – in many cases – provide for their family."
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