Why do entertainer jobs matter?

Working as an entertainer in Washington State offers important economic opportunities that few other jobs offer:

• Higher pay for shorter hours and no schedule

• Immediate hire and same-day pay

• Low barrier: no experience required

• The only low barrier job that covers the cost of childcare

• A means to leave financial dependence in a domestic violence relationship

• Unparalleled freedom to perform and work at your own pace and design

• A strong female/LGBTQ+ supportive network and community.

Does adult entertainment cause crime?

No.

Adult entertainment establishments that do not serve alcohol actually have far less crime than even nearby grocery stores. According to the Seattle Times in Study Contends Strip Clubs Aren't A Magnet for Crimes, “Déjà Vu had fewer police calls than downtown nightclubs and bars such as the Crocodile Cafe and The Whisky Bar” and “From 1998 – 2006 police responded to more than 1200 calls for a Fred Meyer store compared with 375 for Rick’s,” furthermore most of those police responses to Ricks involved undercover vice citing entertainers for violating the city ordinances that criminalize lapdances.

While the industry is asking for the right to serve alcohol, it must be noted that in states that allow adult entertainment establishments to serve alcohol, the complaints about alcohol serving adult entertainment establishments were similar to all alcohol serving establishments. From Dr. McSharry McGrath’s Neighboring in Strip City: A Situational Analysis of Strip Clubs, Land Use Conflflict, and Occupational Health in Portland, Oregon “…the most common complaints about strip clubs were about nuisance activities such noise and littering, which are typical issues for nightlife establishments.” Strip Clubs, "Secondary Effects," and Residential Property Prices extensively talks about the link between sexually oriented businesses and crime and found that, “when controlling for the density of nearby alcohol establishments, Enriquez et al. (2006) finds that the existence of a strip club is not associated with an increase in nearby crime.”

Are laws in Washington that unique?

Washington State is the only state in the country known to enforce a complete prohibition on alcohol service in adult entertainment venues. WAC (Washington Administrative Code) 314-11-050 effectively prohibits the practice by limiting conduct on a license holder’s premises, even though there is no specific state law against it.

The Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) has asserted that “California, Hawaii, Idaho, and Nevada” have similar rules. However, deeper consultation with Dancers and patrons with experience in those states and internet research identifying clubs advertising alcohol sales reveals that no such rule is enforced, at least in major cities within those sates.

What about human trafficking?

Legal, well regulated venues help guard against sexual exploitation. An adult entertainment establishment can offer a community that supports each other and deters participation in the isolating and otherwise dangerous underground platforms of sexually oriented work.

Club Owners Against Sex trafficking (COAST)  has trained more than 20,000 industry workers from more than 235 clubs in more than 35 cities across the U.S. since its 2009 inception. Washington clubs have invited lawmakers and other public officials and community partners to participate in regular trainings.