[Anarchafeminists] Fw: URGENT ACTION: Hackney strip clubs TEMPLATE LETTER

[Gail Chester]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Katie 
To: londonfeministnetwork at yahoogroups.co.uk 
Sent: Sunday, May 23, 2010 12:36 AM
Subject: [londonfeministnetwork] URGENT ACTION: Hackney strip clubs TEMPLATE LETTER


Please, please get as many Hackney residents/workers as you can to email TODAY: SUNDAY 23RD MAY.

Hello everyone,

This is very short notice, but if you live in Hackney and care about equality and women's safety, please act today!

Four lap dancing/strip clubs in Hackney have applied to have their licenses renewed:

BROWNS - 1 Hackney Road, E2 7NX
YE OLDE AXE - 69 Hackney Road, E2
RAINBOW SPORTS BAR - 72 Shoreditch High Street, E1
THE WHITE HORSE, 64 Shoreditch High Street, E1

If you live or work in Hackney you can register an objection, but the deadline is: 

TODAY - SUNDAY 23RD MAY!

Two years ago Hackney residents came together to stop a strip club opening in Stoke Newington, and we won!

We can do it again if enough of us object!

Please email Licensing at hackney dot gov dot uk (see my template email below).

YOU NEED TO SEND A SEPARATE EMAIL FOR EACH CLUB, AND DELETE THE INFO ON SCHOOLS/PLACES OF WORSHIP AS APPROPRIATE.

You should make your objection as premises specific as possible. So, talk about any harassment you have received outside these clubs or just how they make you feel when walking past them, any noise/disturbance that occurs near the clubs, etc. Also mention proximity of schools and places of worship. These are all things the council considers when looking at objections. You could also mention that, with the Olympics coming to Hackney in 2012, the council should be concerned to improve the image of the area.

Please just do as much or as little as you have time for. Even a very short email about just one club would be a massive contribution.

Please forward this email to any friends, partners, relatives, flatmates etc who live or work in Hackney and make sure they send in an email TODAY!

Thank you so much!

Katie
xxx

TEMPLATE LETTER, please amend as you wish:

To whom it may concern,

I would like to register my objection to the renewal of the sex encounter establishment licence at XXX. 

I live and work in the borough of Hackney and as a woman I feel particularly concerned about my personal safety when passing this club on foot and push bike. I am worried about rape, sexual violence and harassment from male customers entering and leaving this club. When passing this club I have been verbally abused and harassed on several occasions by men outside this club.

I believe that if a license is granted to this club, Hackney Council will be breaching its obligations under the Gender Equality Duty (2006).
Gender Equality Duty
Hackney Council has a duty under the Equality Act 2006 to proactively promote gender equality.

The Equality Act 2006 places a requirement on public authorities like Hackney council to have due regard to the need to:

'Promote equality of opportunity between women and men.'

'Eliminate unlawful discrimination and harassment on the grounds of gender.'

This is known as the `general duty' and came into effect on 6 April 2007. It applies to all the council's functions - policymaking, service delivery, public functions, employment, and to services and functions that are contracted out." (page 6)

Hackney Council's own Gender Equality Scheme (23 April 2007) outlined the organisation's commitment to:
'meet its gender equality duties to eliminate unlawful discrimination and harassment, and to promote equality of opportunity between men and women.'
A key objective of Hackney Council's own Gender Equality Scheme is to:
'Improve the safety of women in the Borough'.
A key outcome of Hackney Council's own Gender Equality Scheme is to ensure that:
'Women feel safer living in the Borough.'
Violence against women
Hackney Council's own Equality and Diversity Policy (May 2006) states that:

'The Council will support and promote the rights of women in the borough and will work in partnership with other agencies to eliminate sexism, sexual discrimination, harassment and all forms of violence or abuse of women and girls.' (Point 8.3).

This application runs counter to the GED and Hackney Council's own Equality and Diversity Policy by further increasing the likelihood of crime and sexual violence against women and maintaining no-go areas for women in the Borough. 

Lap dancing clubs have been linked to an increase in sexual violence against women. See:

Profitable Exploits: Lap Dancing in the UK by Julie Bindel (2004),
http://tinyurl.com/dfr8xc

The Eden Report on Inappropriate Behaviour: Adult venues and licensing in London (2007)
http://tinyurl.com/d9ol7y

I would argue that renewing this license in the face of the evidence quoted in the reports above runs counter to Hackney Council's own commitment to tackle violence against women stated on page 8 of the Council's Community Safety Plan (2008-2011.)

Further, I would like to draw your attention to the proximity of schools and places of worship to this premises:

DELETE AS APPROPRIATE:

Browns: 
There is at least one nursery in very close proximity (Noahs Ark Nursery, Pelter Street), there are eight primary schools less than half a mile away (Virginia Primary School, St Monica's Roman Catholic Primary School, Columbia Primary School, St Matthias Church of England Primary School, Randal Cremer Primary School, St John The Baptist Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School, Mustard School, The Lyceum), five secondary schools less than half a mile away (Bethnal Green Technology College, Haggerston School, Mustard School, Central Foundation Boys' School, The Bridge Academy, Hackney), and a sixth form college 0.2 miles away (Hackney Community College). The club is very close to Shoreditch Tabernacle Baptist Church at 18-20 Hackney Road, and Grace Church Hackney on Shoreditch High St, and close to St Monica's R C Church at 19 Hoxton Square, and St Leonard C Of E Church on Shoreditch High St.

Rainbow Sports Bar: There is at least one nursery in very close proximity (Broadgate Nursery, Curtain Road), there are ýeight primary schools less than half a mile away (Virginia Primary School, St Monica's Roman Catholic Primary School, Columbia Primary School, William Davis Primary School, St Anne Roman Catholic Primary School, St Matthias Church of England Primary School, The Lyceum, Christchurch CofE School), three secondary schools less than half a mile away (Bethnal Green Technology College, Haggerston School, Central Foundation Boys' School), and a sixth form college less than half a mile away (Hackney
Community College). The club is extremely close to St Leonard C of E Church on Shoreditch High St, and close to Shoreditch Tabernacle Baptist Church at 18-20 Hackney Road, and Grace Church Hackney on Shoreditch High St.

The White Horse: Same as for Rainbow Sports Bar, as they are only a few doors from each other.

Ye Olde Axe: There is at least one nursery in very close proximity (Noahs Ark Nursery, Pelter Street), there are eight primary schools less than half a mile away (Virginia Primary School, St Monica's Roman Catholic Primary School, Columbia Primary School, St Matthias Church of England Primary School, Randal Cremer Primary School, St John The Baptist Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School, Mustard School, Burbage School), four secondary schools less than half a mile away (Bethnal Green Technology College, Haggerston School, Mustard School, Central Foundation Boys' School), and a sixth form college less than half a mile away (Hackney Community College). The club is very close to St Chads Church on Dunloe Street and Shoreditch Tabernacle Baptist Church at 18-20 Hackney Road, and close to Grace Church Hackney on Shoreditch High St, St Monica's R C Church at 19 Hoxton Square, and St Leonard C Of E Church on
Shoreditch High St.
I look forward to your response.
Many thanks
XXX



__._,_.___
Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post | Start a new topic 
Messages in this topic (1) 
Recent Activity: a.. New Members 8 
Visit Your Group 
 Switch to: Text-Only, Daily Digest . Unsubscribe . Terms of Use.
 
__,_._,___
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.aktivix.org/pipermail/anarchafeminists/attachments/20100523/d511a705/attachment.htm>