Broadcast: Monday 06 October 2008 09:00 PM |
Dispatches investigates the rise and rise of a sexual service industry which presents itself as public entertainment.
The Hidden World of Lap Dancing
Free Catch-Up: Watch Dispatches Again
In high streets and seaside towns all over the country, a growing number of clubs are offering one-on-one lap dances where for a few pounds men can buy extensive bodily contact with a near-naked woman. From any viewpoint, these are undoubtedly personal, sexual encounters. Yet current UK licensing law says they are not.
Using hidden cameras, Dispatches investigates the rise and rise of a sexual service industry which presents itself, in full compliance with the law, as a place of public entertainment. How close to prostitution has this business become, and can the growing protest movement across the UK reverse the boom in erotic entertainment?
This Dispatches investigation comes at a timely moment; The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is consulting local authorities about the operation of the licensing laws. The Home Office does not expect an outcome until mid-autumn.
