86% oppose closure of Bristol’s strip clubs

The long-waited results of a consultation have been released and reveal that respondents overwhelmingly do not support the closure of Bristol’s strip clubs.

Some 86 per cent of people strongly disagreed or disagreed with a proposal of having zero sexual entertainment venues (SEVs) in the city centre area.

Thirteen percent agreed or strongly agreed with eradicating Bristol’s strip clubs – those being Central Chambers on St Stephen’s Street and Urban Tiger on Broad Quay.

About the impact of the pair of venues on feelings of safety, 55 per cent of respondents said they had none. A fifth said their presence made them feel safer.

I’m literally in TEARS ? Thank you so so so so fucking much to the 6000+ respondents to the consultation and for your support and solidarity ❤ pic.twitter.com/YzspGX9kmV

— Amélie ? (@afrenchstripper) July 8, 2022

Strip and pole-dancing clubs are legal in the UK but it is up to individual councils to grant licences.

The Bristol City Council-led survey sought responses from the public to questions around a proposed nil-cap, or ban, of strip clubs in Bristol.

The public engagement looked into the number of SEVs in Bristol and their impact on feelings of safety in specific areas, receiving 6273 responses.

Under the council’s current policy, from 2011 a third SEV is also permitted in Old Market where there are none currently. Half of respondents said they felt fairly safe or safe in the area which includes West Street.

The results were published in the council’s licensing committee documents – seven months after it was conducted.

Strippers protested in December to the proposed nil cap, saying ‘I want to strip off my clothes, not my rights’ – photo: Martin Booth

Bristol Women’s Commission argue that SEVs cause harm and promote and profit from gender inequality and a sexist culture that leads to male violence.

The group Tweeted: “The licensing committee meeting reports pack confirms just how strong the global sex industry lobby is and Bristol has a clear decision to make. Are we a city happy to confine women and girls to being sex objects, or a city that says no to venues and practices that reinforce this?”

“We want Bristol to be a fair/equal city for women & girls: where ‘sex work’ is not the answer to the cost of living crisis, where men do not feel entitled to women’s bodies, where women are seen as equal to men. Strip clubs stand in the way of this. That is why we need a nil-cap.”

The @BristolCouncil Licensing Committee will make its decision over whether to introduce a nil-cap approach to licensing Sexual Entertainment Venues in the city in the interest of women’s equality.

The evidence-based @EqualBristol report is a must-read > https://t.co/O9VSIET1uN

— Bristol Women’s Commission (@BWCommission) July 9, 2022

Meanwhile, Bristol Sex Workers Collective said a ban on strip clubs would constitute indirect gender discrimination – and plans to lodge legal action if the proposal goes ahead.

United Sex Workers, a national union, reacted to the consultation’s results on social media, writing: “We are SO PROUD of every single one of our members, including the incredible Bristol Sex Workers Collective, who mobilised such a huge response to this consultation.

“The people of Bristol don’t want a nil-cap, the workers do not want a nil-cap, let’s hope Bristol City Council listens.”

Whether a nil cap will be implemented is set to be decided in a council meeting on July 28.

Main photo: Betty Woolerton

Read more: Dancers speak out on fate of Bristol’s strip clubs

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