Posted on Fri, 17 February 2023
Edinburgh Sex Workers felt a striking victory on February 10th when the ban on Strip clubs was overturned.
The council’s policy dubbed “nil-cap” effectively banned all “sexual entertainment venues” (SEVs) in the Scottish Capital.
Local Sex Workers alongside the clubs where they make their livings launched a judicial review and judge Lord Richardson released an 82-page judgment ruling it unlawful.
“The committee was wrongly advised that in the events it made a nil determination that would not constitute a ban on SEVs,” Lord Richardson wrote.
United Sex Workers celebrated the overturning, issuing a statement on Twitter via a thread.
“We beat the nil-cap in Edinburgh,” the group announced. “After months of uncertainty, we are incredibly pleased the Court has held that the City of Edinburgh Council’s decision to impose a nil cap on the number of strip clubs in the city was unlawful.”
The council’s nil-cap decision “would have resulted in the closure of all strip clubs in the city. This would have meant many of our members losing their livelihoods or having to move away from their homes and families to find work elsewhere,” the group explained.
“Not only is this a huge win for strippers in Edinburgh, who are no longer facing the prospect of forced mass-unemployment in the middle of a recession, but for the working rights of strippers across Britain,” “Nil-caps are a violent, anti-worker policy that removes strippers’ access to safe workplaces, workers' rights and their ability to improve their own working conditions. Now they have been found unlawful, we hope this puts an end to local council’s imposing strip club bans.”
The group concluded, “especially those of us that are most impacted by criminalization, it can be hard to imagine there is a world where we can not only work in safety, but with full access to workers' rights and protections. Each time our members win, move one step closer to making that a reality. United we are stronger.”
Source: Xbiz
