Lapdancers working in Edinburgh say they will be forced to work in dangerous unregulated conditions if a planned ban on strip clubs comes into effect next year.
Last week, city councillors voted five to four to impose a nil-cap on sex entertainment venues (SEVs) from April 1 2023.
Labour and Tory members united to vote for the blanket ban, defeating an SNP bid to protect existing venues, after hearing from activists who said clubs promoted the sexual objectification of and violence towards women.
But the Record has spoken to a number of dancers who say the move could actually expose them to a greater risk of harm.
Unions say strippers from the city's four clubs will be forced "underground", working private functions that lack the tough security, CCTV and zero tolerance policies of a licensed premises.
Dancer Vivi Sterling said of those who supported the blanket ban: "The fact of the matter is they're trying to 'protect' the very women that they're not protecting.
"These objectors have just made things up about 'violence against women'. But where is their evidence?
"They want to protect women against violence but they're going to force us into doing work in violent environments that can't be regulated."
Vivi has been dancing for around 15 years, financing a move from her native Texas to Scotland.
She works three days a week, says the job fits her lifestyle - and prefers it to working in a bar.
The 36-year-old added: "The Labour and Conservative members have made up their mind in the sense that they don't care.
"We are a scapegoat. When they say they are protecting women, they only have a certain kind of woman in mind. It's an agenda.
"Men are exposing themselves in the streets, but we're the problem?
"There were times I was tearing up during the council meeting, hearing from the people that think we exist on the fringes of society.
"The fact of the matter is we work hard. I work my little butt off. I'm a human being - a real person.
"I don't get what they've got against us. We're not hurting anybody."
Edinburgh is the first council in Scotland to completely ban SEVs after the Scottish Government gave them power to do so in 2019.
Ministers retain the view that stripping is considered a form of violence against women - despite industry pleas to let women choose to strip if they please.
Glasgow City Council set a nil-cap last month - but agreed to grant "grandfather" rights to existing clubs so they could stay open.
Bernadette Valentynne Haggarty, a former dancer who now manages clubs in Edinburgh and Glasgow, says "old fashioned" councils don't understand that lap dancing bars are safe working environments.
"The people that have made this decision have never been in the clubs," she said.
"They're working off of old stereotypes: that the girls are exploited, that the customers are sleazy, and so on.
"But most of the clients are lovely gentlemen - we even get girls who come in for a drink because they know it's a safe place.
"We have staff trained to spot signs of trafficking, we work with the police, and the wellbeing of our dancers is something we prioritise."
She added: "I've had girls phoning me in tears wondering what they're going to do now, wondering if they're going to have a job.
"One of them has been trying to save for her deposit for a mortgage. A lot of them are mothers too.
"This is going to force a lot of girls underground, into kissograms and private parties.
"If you're a woman in a room of 30 guys with no security, that's a really horrible and vulnerable position to be in. Anything could happen. "
United Voices of the World, a union representing some of Edinburgh's approximately 100 lap dancers, says it is preparing to take Edinburgh City Council to court to contest the ban.
Its United Sex Workers branch believes the nil-cap is unlawful and breaches equality laws.
Union caseworker Danielle Worden said: "We really did think the council was going to listen and we're really disappointed it did not.
"This is going to result in a judicial review challenge, which is such a waste of money for everyone involved especially as Edinburgh City Council will be using taxpayers' money to defend it.
"It will cost the union a huge amount of money if we can't find a claimant who is entitled to legal aid.
"This is ridiculous and it's difficult to see who wins from all of this."
Edinburgh City Council says strip clubs can bid for fresh licences to keep operating next year.
But any pleas for mercy will still have to be ratified against the new, more stringent policy.
A spokesperson said: "It's important to note that SEVs can still apply for a licence and committee would consider them against the policy agreed."
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