Sexualisation, nuisance and safety: Sexual Entertainment Venues and the management of risk

This small-scale project will perform an original and timely analysis of the impacts of 'lap dance' and 'striptease' venues on their locality with particular regard to the protection of public safety, the prevention of public nuisance and the reduction of crime and disorder.

In the last decade, around 300 dedicated clubs have opened in England and Wales where the 'live display of nudity' is regularly offered. Such venues have excited considerable comment and have been opposed in many quarters as offering exploitative and degrading forms of entertainment which compromise the safety not just of female performers, but all women who live and work around such venues. However, there is no existing research documenting the actual impacts of clubs on recorded crime in their vicinity, let alone any work exploring how they are perceived by local residents. This given, local authority policy remains based on 'common sense' ideas about the impacts of such venues, with little clear understanding of who is effected by such clubs, over what size of area and with what impact.

This research will, for the first time, perform a grounded analysis of the impacts of such venues on surrounding businesses and residents. This will entail examination of the impacts of venues in a small town, large town, provincial city and metropolitan setting, chosen to represent the diversity of club styles and settings, following consultation with key stakeholders. The research will combine surveys of local residents and business users, guided urban walks with women and men of varied ages and backgrounds and analysis of crime data for each locale. In total, 8 focus groups/walks will be conducted with 40 residents, with at least 400 survey returns analysed.

The research will contribute to more effective policy as it pertains to the new licensing category of Sexual Entertainment Venues established by section 27 of the Policing and Crime Act 2009. This new, adoptive, legislation grants considerable leeway to local authorities but, to date, there is no evidence they can draw on about the actual impacts of these clubs relative to other licensed venues. This research will generate such evidence, based on a representative study of clubs and qualitative research on their impacts on local residents and businesses: importantly, the research will compare women and men's perceptions of the suitability of such clubs, responding to concerns that their presence makes certain areas 'no-go zones' for women.

Sexual Entertainment Venues appear increasingly important in the night-time economy and can be important for job generation. However, they require careful regulation given the fears and anxieties they appear to arouse, not least given the recent context of rapid rises in reported sexual assault in England and Wales. Devolving the formulation of policy to the local level, the government suggests that the licensing of such venues is a matter for local authorities to decide given they know 'what works best in their area': this research will provide an overview of the general impacts of such venues which will help inform local decisions about their suitability in our towns and cities. In the lifetime of the project the research will generate a final report with policy recommendations, two academic conference papers and a workshop event. Three further journal papers are planned.

The research complements other ESRC funded research on the impacts of the sex industries on workers and clients (e.g. RES 062-23-0137 Migrant Workers in the Sex Industry; RES 000-22-3163 The Regulatory Dance) as well as previous work on sex work legislation by the PI (RES 000-22-1001 Regulating the Spaces of Sex Work) by exploring the contextual impacts of adult-entertainment venues on local communities. It also engages with key debates concerning the regulation of the night-time economy, especially as it pertains to women's safety and well-being (e.g. RES-000-23-0384 A Women on the Door).

This project has been formulated to have significant impact in the fields of social policy, urban planning and community safety as they impact on the work of local authorities in the UK.

Sexual Entertainment Venues, though limited in number, are extremely significant in debates about the shape and form of contemporary nightlife given their presence in British cities has aroused considerable opposition in particular quarters because of their presentation of women's bodies as objects for sexual consumption. Such opposition has posed significant challenges for a licensing system that is supposed to have no interest in personal morality and consider only questions of public safety, disorder and crime in so much as these are germane to the licensing process.

At present, there is no reputable evidence that would withstand legal scrutiny about the impact of Sexual Entertainment Venues on residents and local businesses in British cities. As such, this project would produce evidence that will be of value to local licensing authorities in determining the suitability of venues in particular locales, considering both their responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 as well their general aim of reducing crime and disorder.

This project will hence involve considerable engagement with stakeholders and user involvement in research design, data collection and dissemination. Relevant constituencies here include: (1) residents and business representatives, including some that have opposed Sex Entertainment Venues (2) the operators of such clubs and the organisations that represent their interests (e.g. the Lap Dance Association, Federation of Licensed Victuallers) (3) the local authority licensing officers and councillors who make judgments about the suitability of premises in given locales, and the organizations who represent and advise them (e.g. the Institute of Licensing, Local Government Association). In each locale, we have the support of chief licensing officers, with letters of support attached in two cases.

Given sensitivities and potential biases, the project will not be publicised or launched locally as being a study of attitudes towards Sexual Entertainment Venues per se. However, at the end of the project we will seek to exploit the broad public interest in this topic by developing press releases and media podcasts which summarise the aims, results and theoretical implications of the research. These will also be available on the ESRC Today web interface. Given the topic stands at the interface of sociology, social policy, gender studies, critical legal scholarship, urban studies and criminology, we intend to publish the results in journals capturing this range of disciplines. Pre-publication versions of papers are also to be presented to major international conferences, with funding for these budgeted for accordingly. All of this will help stimulate an informed discussion of the impacts of lap dancing venues on local communities.

In terms of engaging with policy makers, there will be both a final stakeholder conference at the University of Kent. The final workshop event will launch the project report - 'Crime, safety and Sexual Entertainment: what are the issues?' - and present the findings and outcomes of the research with an eye to ensuring that stakeholders are aware of the policy implications of our research. The report will offer a summary of findings that is clear, accessible and offer information directly relevant to policy and practice. This will be disseminated through relevant channels, and downloadable from key websites. The audience will consist of invited groups representing community groups, venue operators and local authorities, along with Home Office representatives in the areas of community safety and crime reduction. Licensing solicitors including Philip Kolvin QC and Leo Chamboldis (Arden Chambers) have agreed to attend this workshop, alongside licensing officers from case study cities.