A 14-year-old schoolgirl has been discovered performing naked in a lap-dancing club while her mother thought she was at a friend’s sleepover.
An investigation by The Sun newspaper revealed that the girl, who has not been named, was allegedly dancing naked behind a screen and taking customers for private dances until 3am.
Undercover
According to the newspaper’s investigation she had had twelve vodka cocktails and was very drunk.
She told an undercover reporter from The Sun: “This is only my second night but I’m a very good dancer. For £20 you can come into a private booth with me and I’ll dance for you.”
She also offered a “VIP dance” for £80. When asked what that involved, she answered: “You’ll have to find out.”
Underage
The girl allegedly told the owner of the Shadow Lounge club in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, that she was 18.
A friend, also 14, performed pole dances but said she was there for “moral support”.
She also claimed to be 18 but it became clear this was untrue when she told the reporter: “I work at a restaurant at weekends and school holidays.”
Changes
Since 2005 lap-dancing clubs have been licensed in the same category as karaoke bars, cafes and pubs – leading to an explosion in their numbers.
But the Government has announced plans to toughen the law, giving local residents more opportunity to object.
Secrets
Last month an ex-lap-dancer disclosed shocking secrets, shattering the myth that the practice “is no more than dancing”.
Girls younger than 18 are pushed to perform sexual acts on men in lap-dancing clubs in order to make the job pay, the former worker told the Times newspaper.
Degrading
Milly, who started lap-dancing when she was 24 to fund her drug and alcohol problem, said: “Whether individual women feel degraded by them or not, lap-dancing degrades all of us because it’s providing a socially acceptable place for women to be treated as sex objects.”
She also warned that men need to appreciate the negative impact which the industry is having on women.
She said: “The only way to really change things, if there is such a thing as an equal society, is if men learn to understand that paying for sexual stimulation is degrading and does have a negative impact. It’s not just a bit of fun.”
She added: “They think it’s not really sex, so it’s harmless. They are wrong.”
Inappropriate
From April, local people in England and Wales will be given the right to oppose an application for a lap-dancing club on the basis that it would be inappropriate for the local area.
Currently residents can object for licensing reasons only, such as crime and disorder, nuisance, public safety and protecting children.