EDINBURGH, Scotland — Edinburgh sex workers prevailed in their campaign today when a judge ruled that the city council’s attempt to ban all strip clubs was unlawful.
The council’s policy, known as “nil-cap,” effectively banned all “sexual entertainment venues” (SEVs) in the historic Scottish capital.
Local sex workers, alongside the clubs where they make their living, launched a judicial review and today judge Lord Richardson released an 82-page judgment ruling the policy unlawful, the Daily Record
As XBIZ reported, sex workers were allowed to testify at a March 2022 meeting, and also during a two-day hearing at the Court of Session in December, about the potential harm to their lives and livelihoods if the nil-cap policy were implemented.
Rosie Walker, partner and head of litigation at Gilson Gray, which acted for the United Sex Workers (USW) union, told the Daily Record that Lord Richardson’s ruling was a “fantastic and very well-deserved result.”
Walker noted that if the council’s nil-cap scheme had been upheld, it would have resulted in the closure of every strip club in Edinburgh.
“That would have meant many of USW’s members losing their livelihoods or having to move away from their homes and families to find work elsewhere,” she added.
'United We Are Stronger'
United Sex Workers celebrated the decision, issuing a statement via a Twitter thread today.
“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 … 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 councils imposing strip club bans.”
The USW thread concluded, “As sex workers, 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.”
Main Image: United Sex Workers activists protesting the nil-cap policy (Photo: Twitter)
