Edinburgh lapdancers slam strip club ban bid over fears of 'greater risk of harm'

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Lapdancers working in Edinburgh say they will be forced to work in dangerous unregulated conditions if a planned ban on strip clubs comes into effect next year.

Last week, city councillors voted five to four to impose a nil-cap on sex entertainment venues (SEVs) from April 1 2023. Labour and Tory members united to vote for the blanket ban, defeating an SNP bid to protect existing venues, after hearing from activists who said clubs promoted the sexual objectification of and violence towards women.

But the Record has spoken to a number of dancers who say the move could actually expose them to a greater risk of harm. Unions say strippers from the city's four clubs will be forced "underground", working private functions that lack the tough security, CCTV and zero tolerance policies of a licensed premises.

Dancer Vivi Sterling said of those who supported the blanket ban: "The fact of the matter is they're trying to 'protect' the very women that they're not protecting."These objectors have just made things up about 'violence against women'.