After the sentence: Government cautious on licensing lap dance clubs

Following last Monday's landmark court ruling, in which Magistrate Ian Farrugia concluded that being topless inside a gentlemen's club does not constitute an immoral act, the government is still wary on regularising gentlemen clubs by issuing a specific licence to regulate these establishments, as happens in other countries, like the United Kingdom. 

"At some stage the government may consider the regulation of these types of establishments in a different manner to other holders of wines and spirits licences but this is a complex matter which may also raise issues ranging from employment law to human trafficking which would have to be taken into proper consideration," a spokesperson for the Justice and Home Affairs Ministry told MaltaToday. 

But the same spokesperson insisted that the court judgement cannot be understood as "some sort of green light," for these activities.

"The recent judgement decided that there wasn't a sufficient basis to establish guilt, considering the particular circumstances proven in the case. The judgement means what it says and cannot be understood as some sort of green light for certain activities in general," the government spokesperson added.

In countries like the United Kingdom these establishments operate legally and are licensed as "sexual encounters establishments" which fall in the same category as sex shops and adult cinemas.  One of the aims of such legislation was to control human trafficking and to give local councils a greater say in issuing permits for these establishments.

Lap dancing in the UK

The UK licensing system introduced in 2010 reversed the 2003 Licensing Act, through which registering a lap-dancing club was as easy as registering a pub or karaoke bar. This resulted in the number of clubs doubling from 150 to 300. 

The first academic research project on the industry conducted by the University of Leeds found that dancers in UK clubs can earn up to £48,000 per annum, and that 84% of the 300 dancers surveyed reported satisfaction with their job. The overwhelming majority of the 300 dancers surveyed were satisfied with their work, because they got to choose their own hours, got paid instantly, got more money than in other available jobs and had the opportunity to combine "fun and work." The findings revealed that one in four lap dancers in the UK has a degree. One-third of the 300 women interviewed were using dancing to fund new forms of education or training. The researchers found no evidence of trafficking in the industry, and concluded that career and economic choices were motivations for dancing rather than drug use or coercion. But the report also documented dancers' experiences of customer harassment, including verbal abuse.  Dancers in some clubs reported unsafe working conditions, lack of insurance, inconsistency of income and arbitrary fines in some clubs. The report concluded that the new licensing regulations   gave authorities more control over the location of lap-dancing establishments but failed to consider the welfare of the dancers.

The Canadian way

Regulation was favoured in Canada following a landmark 1994 court ruling in which Judge Hachborn, ruled that lap dancing did not contravene laws on public decency.  The Supreme Court confirmed the ruling in 1999.

In Toronto, adult entertainers like lap dancers are issued with a government license, and a database containing their personal information is kept as a safeguard against human trafficking. Regulations specify that private rooms or cubicles at clubs should have one side that is either open or constructed with non-opaque material and equipped with an alert system for the entertainer. Canadian law forbids any touching that is explicitly sexual in nature.

The Icelandic way

While countries like the UK and Canada have favoured regulating such adult entertainment, other like Iceland have banned the practice altogether for feminist, rather than religious reasons. Kolbrun Halldorsdottir, the politician who proposed the ban, argued that "it is not acceptable that women or people in general are a product to be sold." The law, which was passed with no votes against and only two abstentions, makes it illegal for any business to profit from the nudity of its employees.