The presence of a pop-up strip club in Cheltenham is making women feel “threatened and intimidated” at one of the UK’s biggest horse racing festivals, the Justice Secretary has said.
Cheltenham councilor Alex Chalk has challenged the local council to stop issuing licenses to so-called sexual entertainment venues (SEVs).
Despite opposition from women’s rights groups and other organisations, Cheltenham Council granted SEV a license in January for use during this week’s festival and for the race in November.
Jock said he supports the festival, but it has nothing to do with the venue. He pointed to a 2021 survey by the local authority which found that 75% of women and girls in the area felt unsafe in Cheltenham town center in the evenings and nights during race weeks.
“I’m frustrated because councils have made it clear that they don’t buy the argument that there’s a problem here. They refuse to see that there’s a problem with women’s safety here, and I think that puts them well behind the times,” he said.
“The moral debate may have been relevant ten years ago, but the world has changed and the key now is clearly that women need to feel safe.
“My argument is simple. Stop granting these licenses. The council says they have no choice but the fact is that if they want to listen to women who say they feel unsafe then they can.
“Women feel threatened and intimidated and the atmosphere in Cheltenham has become threatening. This should not make half the population feel this way.”
During the competition the club is run by Eroticats at Cheltenham. When contacted by the Guardian, the company was told no one was available to comment.
Cheltenham Borough Council has been contacted for comment.
Simon Wheeler, MP for the Lib Dem-controlled authority, said when the license was granted in January: “While the government considers this an acceptable and legal business, I would prefer to see this business regulated under a regulated basis instead of going to an exempt business that we have no control over.”
Heather Binning of the Women’s Rights Network said the network had been interested in the Cheltenham Festival for some time. “The fact that women are being offered as commodities in SEVs during games makes the lives of local women and girls even more unsafe,” she said.
Others said banning the clubs would not make Cheltenham any safer for women during the festival. Amelie, a representative of the Sex Workers Alliance and a former stripper who worked in the town, told The Lead that the link between gender-based violence and SEV should not be confused.
“Criminalization empowers dangerous people and especially dangerous clients,” she said. “This puts all the power back into their hands.”
