Institute Update Issue 2 - May 2002

Porn merchants wound up after Christian Institute campaign

By Mike Judge

Porn merchants have wound up their company following a Christian Institute campaign against their touring sex show. Xsensual Limited dissolved in October 2001 after losing hundreds of thousands of pounds over failed events. Xsensual’s Chief Executive, Jack Frere, blamed Christian campaigners for turning the shows into flops.

The Christian Institute campaigned against the touring show in Newcastle, Sheffield and Cardiff. In Cardiff, the local council refused to grant a sex shop licence for the event. Although Xsensual could have staged a less explicit event, they decided to cancel the whole show.

The Institute tried to keep track of Xsensual after Cardiff but there was no sign of them until it was noticed that they were overdue in sending their annual returns to Companies House. Three months later Xsensual was dissolved as a company. What started as a local issue in Newcastle turned into a campaign with national significance – with a judicial review at the High Court along the way.

The experience gained in the campaign has helped the Institute help others fight applications for sex shop licences. Supporters in Camborne were helped to successfully block what would have been Cornwall’s first sex shop. The Institute has also been involved in helping supporters stand against sex shop licences in Gateshead, Sunderland, Darlington, Gloucester and Powys.

It appears there has been a sharp rise in the number of sex shop applications. It is vital that local people are vigilant and willing to object when the need arises. Councils have the power to refuse applications, but only on certain legal grounds. If local people object to an application, and do so on the basis of those legal grounds, it can be a powerful influence against granting a licence. The Christian Institute can offer expert help and support, but in the end it is local supporters who will exert most influence on local councils.

Meanwhile, Glasgow City Council has been calling for tougher licensing laws to govern lap dancing. Currently, lap dancing is covered by a mere entertainment licence which is not appropriate to the nature of lap dancing. The authorities in Glasgow are also cracking down on prostitution.

Glasgow’s stance is in marked contrast to Edinburgh where city chiefs have tried to establish a “prostitute zone”. When the zone was operating in Leith, prostitutes flooded into the area to take advantage of the liberal approach. Local residents eventually forced the zone to be moved.

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