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Wednesday, November 19, 2008, 18:31
Cllr Lynda Bowyer, who has campaigned for a change in the law, is delighted at hearing Home Secretary Jacqui Smith's proposals.
The Eggbuckland Tory councillor said moves to licence pole dance clubs in the same way as sex shops would give the council control over their location and what goes on inside them.
It would stop situations such as the one surrounding the recent opening of Sirens on the Barbican, where current loopholes meant its move into pole dancing was covered by its dance entertainment licence.
But Cllr Bowyer is also keen the distinction between 'pole' and 'lap' dancing is recognised.
And that's echoed by Sam Remmer, who runs Mutley Plain's The Art of Dance pole dance school, who said more stringent licensing would protect women working in the industry, but is anxious establishments such as hers, unconnected with nudity or 'titillation', are not affected by the same laws.
Cllr Bowyer called Ms Smith's proposal 'brilliant' and said: "It's what I have been campaigning for."
But she also stressed: "I'm not against lap dancing clubs, far from it, in a city this size you have to offer diversity.
"But I have campaigned for them to come under sex encounter establishments and a different set of criteria."
She said Ms Smith's proposals would mean residents' concerns could be heard, particularly in areas such as the Barbican where there are issues about what businesses should be allowed to operate in a tourism area.
When Sirens opened in the former Quay Club it already had requisite permissions, including, crucially, a 'performance of dance' entertainment licence – so the building's owner did not need to apply for anything else.
The council was therefore powerless to prevent it opening or place conditions on it. More than 200 other city premises have the same licence, so any of them could be turned into pole dancing clubs.
Mrs Remmer said pole dance clubs were 'providing a sexual service' involving women taking off clothes to 'titillate men'.
She therefore said: "I agree with the idea of additional licensing.
"Hopefully it will protect some of the girls that work in the clubs. They are vulnerable. There are issues over employment law, health and safety, and physical contact."
But she stressed that pole dancing for flexibility and fitness was worlds apart from doing it as a 'precursor to lap dancing' and should not be affected by any new laws.
"It's all to do with the wording of the legislation," she said. "I hope it's not a Draconian measure."
Top cop backing changes to vice laws
A TOP cop heading the fight against the brutal trade of trafficking women into sex slavery in Plymouth has welcomed a shake-up in the vice laws, writes Nick Lester, parliamentary correspondent.
Under the changes announced by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, men who pay for sex with women who have been forced into prostitution will face prosecution.
Det Ch Insp Kevin Tilke, who heads Devon and Cornwall’s serious organised and specialist crime branch, said the move would help to target those who used women forced into prostitution.
At the same time, he also highlighted the need to provide assistance to the vulnerable victims, and crack down on those behind the illegal activity.
Plymouth is not immune to the horrific crime of sex trafficking, with raids carried out on city brothels and victims rescued.
Dozens have been charged or arrested in connection with the offence, and hundreds of thousands of pounds have been seized by the courts.
Under the Government changes, paying for sex with a woman “controlled for another’s gain” will be a criminal offence.
Ignorance of the woman’s circumstances will be no defence and those convicted will get a criminal record and a fine of up to £1,000.
Anyone who knowingly pays illegally trafficked women for sex could face rape charges.
The proposals also allow kerb-crawlers to be prosecuted for a first offence, rather than persistent activity, and there will also be more “naming and shaming” of offenders.
And police will have greater powers to shut down brothels associated with sexual exploitation, without having to prove that they are linked to class A drug use or anti-social behaviour. Det Ch Insp Tilke said: “Any legislation that contributes towards addressing the issue of coerced prostitution is welcomed.
“This piece of legislation is very helpful in that it helps us to target one aspect of prostitution, those individuals who use women forced into prostitution.
“It is equally important that we are able to help these women, and that those who actually force the women into prostitution and organise prostitution are subject to the law and receive appropriate sentences.”
Sam Remmer, Herald blogger and city pole dance teacher, is picked by AOL to demonstrate the exercise routine on one of their websites. Posted February 20th, 2008.
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