Scottish Government

Survey Results

Experiences of adult entertainment

For the purposes of this survey, adult entertainment was defined as 'activities or performances of a sexual nature taking place in a public place'.

Respondents were asked if they had ever been to a venue where there was some form of adult entertainment on offer. The types of adult entertainment they were asked about were female strippers, male strippers, pole dancing or lap dancing. From the whole sample, one in three (32%) said they had attended at least one of these forms of adult entertainment. This included 40% of men and 26% of women.

Across the whole sample ( i.e. a base of 822 respondents), the most common form of adult entertainment experienced was female strippers, with 23% saying they had ever been to such a venue. This was followed by pole dancing (12%), male strippers (11%) and lap dancing (10%).

Among the 32% who said they had ever been to any adult entertainment venue ( i.e. a base of 263 respondents), 70% said they had been to a venue with female strippers, 34% said they had been to see male strippers, 37% mentioned pole dancing and 32% said they had been to a venue with lap dancing.

Figure 1: Experience of adult entertainment by gender.
QAE4 Have you ever personally been to a venue where there were any of the following?

There was some significant variation in the results by gender as shown in the figure above. Specifically, men were more likely to have been to each type of venue except those with male strippers.

Analysis of age groups shows that there were differences by age. In particular, and as shown by Table 1, those aged 65 years and over were least likely to have attended such venues. This is especially evident for pole dancing and lap dancing, which is possibly explained by these being relatively new.

Table 1: Experience of adult entertainment by age and gender.

Source: MORI
Note for table: Each column shows the percentage of respondents in each age group who had been to an adult entertainment venue. The base size for each age group is given in the first row. For example, the figure '23' in the second column/second row indicates that 23% of the seventy-five 16-24 year olds had ever been to a venue where there was a female stripper.

There was little difference between people living in urban areas (where 35% had ever been to an adult entertainment venue) and those living in small towns (31%). However, people in rural areas were less likely than those in urban areas to have been to an adult entertainment venue - 24% said they had been to a venue.

Those who were aware of an adult entertainment venue in their neighbourhood or council area were more likely to have been (48% had ever been to a venue) than those who were not aware of a venue in their area (28% had ever been to a venue).

Analysis using areas classified by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation reveals that those in the most deprived areas were more likely to say they have been to a venue than those in the least deprived areas (40% compared with 21%).

Circumstances of visits to adult entertainment venues

Figure 2 shows that visiting an adult entertainment venue is associated with special occasions and being away from home. The most common circumstance when people had visited an adult entertainment venue was when on a stag night or hen night (46%). Other reasons included 'it was part of some other night out' (36%), 'I was on holiday' (19%) and 'I was on a business trip' (8%).

Women may be less likely than men to have gone out and sought adult entertainment as they were more likely than men to say that they were not aware that the show was going to happen (11% compared with only 1% of men). Those who live in rural areas were also more likely than those living in urban areas to say this (16% and 3% respectively).

Figure 2: Circumstances of visiting a venue by gender.
QAE5 Which of these, if any, best describes the circumstances of that or those visits?

Frequency of visits to adult entertainment venues

When asked how often people visited such venues, no one reported being a regular visitor. The highest proportion of people said they had only been once or twice (74%) supporting the idea that this is an out of the ordinary occurrence for most people (Figure 3).

Figure 3: Frequency of visits by gender.
QAE6 How often do you go to venues where there are these kinds of shows?

When comparing results by gender, more women (78%) said 'I've just been once or twice' than men (71%). Thirteen percent of men said they had 'been several times in the past, but not these days', compared with 5% of women. There was little difference between men and women for 'been several times but don't go regularly' (6% males and 8% females respectively).

Respondents who said they have a venue in their neighbourhood or local authority were more likely to have 'been several times in the past, but not these days' (14%) than those who said they did not have a venue (5%).

Whether respondents would consider attending adult entertainment

As well as asking if respondents had previously been to adult entertainment venues, all respondents were asked if they would consider going if it was suggested by a group of friends, providing a different measure of the acceptability of adult entertainment. As all respondents were asked, this included those who had said they had ever been to a venue. A third of all respondents said they would consider going to a venue that offered any of the forms of adult entertainment (30%). In particular, 19% would consider visiting a venue with female strippers, 11% one with male strippers, 12% a venue with pole dancing and 10% one with lap dancing.

Further analysis combined whether respondents would consider going to a venue with whether they had ever been. Across all respondents, 18% said they had been to a venue and would consider going again, 13% had been but would not consider going again. Thirteen percent had not been but would consider going and 55% had not been and would not consider going.

Figure 4: Consider going to a venue by gender.
QAE7 If a friend or a group of friends suggested going to a venue that offered each of the following, which of them, if any, would you consider going to?

Figure 4 shows some difference between men and women in whether they would consider going to an adult entertainment venue. Men were more likely than women to say that they would consider going to venues involving female strippers (33% men compared with 6% women), pole dancing (20% men compared with 4% women) or lap dancing (17% men compared with 3% women). More women (20%) than men (2%) said they would consider going to see male strippers. The differences between men and women are more marked here than for whether they had been or not.

Those who would not consider going to such a venue, regardless of whether or not they had ever been (63%), were asked why they would be unlikely to go. In general, responses reflected people's principles or attitudes towards adult entertainment rather than practical issues such as cost.

As shown in Figure 5 below, eight in ten said 'it's not the kind of thing I enjoy' (79%). Over a third 'object to that type of entertainment' (35%) and a similar proportion said 'I feel it is sexual exploitation' (29%). These figures show a certain amount of negative public opinion towards adult entertainment. Women, in particular, were more likely than men to say they 'object to that type of entertainment' (42% compared with 26%).

More women than men said that they would not consider going because they thought they would be embarrassed (17% of women compared with 9% of men). Conversely, a larger proportion of men said that they were concerned about the cost of attending adult entertainment (7% of men compared with 0% of women) and that they would be concerned their partner would find out (5% of men compared with 0% of women).

An analysis comparing areas in terms of deprivation showed that those in the least deprived areas were more likely to say 'not the kind of thing I enjoy', 'I feel it is sexual exploitation' and 'object to that type of entertainment' than those in the most deprived areas. Those from the most deprived areas were more likely to say 'concern about cost' and 'I would be embarrassed' than those in the least deprived areas.

Figure 5: Reasons for not going to an adult entertainment venue by gender.
QAE8 Why would you be unlikely to go?

Attitudes towards adult entertainment venues in the community

One third (30%) of respondents said they were aware of an adult entertainment venue in their neighbourhood or local authority, with similar proportions of males and females aware of one (31% of males compared with 28% females). Younger people were more likely than older people to be aware of venues (46% of 25-34 year olds compared with 17% of those aged 65 years and over).

As Table 2 below illustrates, most people thought that the presence of adult entertainment venues has a negative impact (49%) or no impact (43%) on the area, while only eight per cent of respondents felt that they have a positive impact.

Women were more likely than men to think that adult entertainment venues have a negative effect on areas (55% compared with 43%). Those who said they were aware of adult entertainment venues in their local authority were less likely to view them as having a negative effect (36%) than those people who were not aware of such a venue in their local authority (53%) or were unsure whether there was one (59%). More respondents who said they have a venue in their neighbourhood or local authority had been to a venue than those who said they did not have a venue (48% compared with 28% respectively), which may explain their more favourable attitudes towards adult entertainment. Indeed, those respondents who have been to a venue were less likely to have said 'negative impact' than those who have not been, regardless of whether they have a venue in their neighbourhood or local authority (26% of those who had been said 'negative impact' compared with 74% of those who had not been).

Respondents in the most deprived areas were more likely to feel that the presence of an adult entertainment venue in their local authority would have no impact on the area (48%) compared with those in the least deprived areas (32%).

Table 2: The impact of adult entertainment venues

Source: MORI

All respondents who felt that the presence of adult entertainment venues would have a negative impact were asked what problems they thought might be caused. As Figure 6 below shows, the main potential problems were associated with anti-social behaviour. They believed that the area might develop a more negative image, might attract the wrong kind of people and that there might be more drunken and unruly behaviour. The safety of local women was also an issue for respondents. Two-thirds (66%) of women were concerned that there might be implications for local women's safety, as were 57% of men.

Figure 6: Potential problems associated with adult entertainment venues by gender.

QAE2 Which of these problems, if any, do you think might be caused?

The potential problems associated with adult entertainment venues can be analysed by whether respondents were aware of a venue in their neighbourhood or local authority and those who were not. Those who said they had a venue in their neighbourhood or local authority were more likely than those who did not to have said that a venue might 'attract drunkenness/unruly behaviour of customers' (78% of those who have venue compared with 60% of those who do not have venue), 'safety for local women' (68% of those who have a venue compared with 54% of those who do not have a venue). Conversely, those who said they did not have a venue in their neighbourhood or local authority were more likely to have said that a venue might 'attract wrong kind of people to the area' (73% of those who do not have a venue compared with 54% of those who do), lead to a 'general increase in crime' (32% compared with 24%) or lead to 'traffic increase/parking problems' (22% compared with 14%).

All respondents were asked how they would feel if there was a proposal to open a venue in the centre of their nearest town or city. Only six per cent of respondents said they would be in favour of such a proposal but four in ten (39%) expressed indifference, saying they would "not be bothered". Just over half (56%) would be opposed. Table 3 below helps to illustrate the variation within the results. Women (63%) were significantly more likely than men (48%) to be opposed to an adult entertainment venue opening in the centre of their nearest town or city, possibly due to the fact that they show more objections in general to adult entertainment.

Table 3: Attitudes towards opening of an adult entertainment venue in local area

Source: MORI

As Table 3 shows, opinion differed greatly with age: 16% of those aged 16-24 years would be in favour of a proposal compared with just two percent of those over 55 years. Similarly, only 30% of 16-24 year-olds and 36% of 25-34 year-olds would be opposed to the opening of an adult entertainment venue compared with 76% of those aged over 65 years.

There is more opposition among those who do not have a venue in their neighbourhood or local authority (59% opposed) than among those who do (40% opposed). Of those who said they already have a venue in their neighbourhood or local authority, a slight majority (52%) would be 'not bothered' by proposals to open another venue.

Those who have been to an adult entertainment venue in the past and would consider going again were most likely (18%) to be in favour of a venue opening up in their nearest town or city. This is followed by those who had not been but would consider going, of which 8% would be in favour. Of those who had been but would not consider going, only 2% were in favour with 66% opposed.

Opinions of exploitation

Public attitudes towards adult entertainment were further measured by asking opinions of whether certain groups of people benefit from, or are exploited by, adult entertainment. We asked about six groups: women in general, men in general, female strippers, male strippers, local residents and customers.

Overall, 39% of all respondents thought that no one was exploited, 45% thought that between one and five of these groups was exploited and 16% thought that all of the groups were exploited. These figures do not vary significantly by gender. However, there are differences observed by whether respondents would consider going to a venue or have been. This is shown in Table 4 below. In general, this table shows that if someone has been or would consider going, they were more likely to say that no-one is exploited and less likely to say that everyone is exploited.

Table 4: Opinions of exploitation by whether respondent would consider going to a venue or has been.

Source: MORI

Figure 7 shows the percentages of respondents that said they thought each group is exploited. Around four in ten people believed that women in general, female strippers and local residents are exploited by these activities, while around one in three felt that customers, male strippers and men in general are exploited. It is important to note that none of these figures represent a majority. However, almost half of women felt that women in general were exploited.

Figure 7: Whether these groups of people are exploited by gender.
QAE11 On balance, do you think that each of the following groups of people benefit from, or are exploited by, activities such as lap dancing, pole dancing or male or female strippers?

Figure 7 also shows the gender differences. On the whole, higher percentages of women said they thought the groups were exploited. These differences were significant for 'local residents' and 'men in general'. However, significantly more men than women said they thought customers are exploited. Further analysis on whether respondents said 'men in general' and 'women in general' were exploited was undertaken. Twenty-six percent of men thought that both 'women in general' and 'men in general' were exploited. This does not differ significantly from the 32% of women who thought this.

Age related differences have been significant in relation to previous questions, with younger respondents being more tolerant of adult entertainment than older people. Therefore, Table 5 explores the relation between age and gender for 'women in general'. In general, the proportion of people who thought that 'women in general' are exploited increases across the age groups, while more women than men thought this for all age groups apart from the over 65 year olds. However, the difference between men and women is not consistent across the age groups.

Table 5: Whether women in general are exploited by age and gender.

Source: MORI

Licensing and regulation of adult entertainment venues

Currently, there are no special licensing requirements for venues that want to offer live adult entertainment other than a licence to sell alcohol. Respondents were asked how strongly they agreed or disagreed that there should be specific licences for adult entertainment venues, giving local authorities more control over whether they operate. They were also asked whether they would support specific types of regulation.

In general, there was support for specific licensing arrangements for each of the four types of adult entertainment venues asked about, with over two-thirds of respondents agreeing that there should be specific licences for each.

Table 6: Support for licensing of adult entertainment venues by age.

Source: MORI

The above table shows variation across the age bands in the level of support for specific licensing of adult entertainment venues. The youngest age group (16-24) showed less support for specific licensing for all types of venues than the older age groups. Across all age groups there is little difference between the four types of adult entertainment. There was also no real difference in men's and women's opinions of licensing (shown in figure 8).

Figure 8: Support for licensing of adult entertainment venues by gender.
QAE9 How strongly do you agree or disagree that there should be a specific licence for venues that want to have each of the following so that the local authority has more control over whether they operate? Should there be specific licences for venues with…?

% agree

There were small differences between those who have ever been to an adult entertainment venue and those who have not. For example, 70% of those who have never been to a venue supported specific licences for venues with female strippers compared with 64% of those who have been to a venue.

There was little variation in opinion between those who believe that they have a venue in their council area and those who do not. Likewise, opinions were similar in rural and urban areas. However, eight in ten (80%) of those in the least deprived areas agreed with specific licensing regulations for venues with female strippers compared with 61% of those in the most deprived areas.

Respondents were also asked to indicate if they would support certain regulations for venues and acts. In general, none of the proposals were supported by more than half of the sample. If these venues were to be regulated, the measures that people would most like to see put in place were restricting venues to specified streets (41% would support), not allowing touching of performers (32% would support) and more rules on how close dancers could be to customers (24% would support). Respondents were unlikely to favour an outright ban (24% would support).

Although the support for these regulations was not unanimous, and none of the suggested regulations gained support from a majority of the population, only 16% said that they thought the industry should set its own rules. This indicates that over 80% of the public would like to see some sort of external control of adult entertainment.

Figure 9: Regulations for adult entertainment by gender.
QAE10 If these venues or acts were to be regulated, which of the following would you support?

Figure 9 displays the results by gender. While men were more likely than women to support the industry setting its own rules (19% of men would support compared with 13% of women), this only got the support of one in five men. More women than men would support regulations restricting the level of nudity (21% of women compared with 13% of men), although again this is only from one in five women. The biggest difference between men and women was in support for the suggestion that all adult entertainment venues should be banned. Three in every ten women supported this compared with two men in every ten.

There are marked differences in responses to this question between those who have been to a venue and those who have not. Almost a third (32%) of those who have never been to a venue said they should all be banned compared to 8% of those who had been. Likewise, more people (53%) who said they were not aware of a venue in their neighbourhood said this than those who were aware of a venue (19%). A lower percentage of people who have not been to a venue said that the industry should be allowed to set its own rules (9%) compared to those who have been (31%).

There are differences in opinion observed across the age groups. A higher percentage of those in the older age groups said 'they should all be banned', than those in the younger age groups (47% of those aged 65 + years compared with 9% of 16-24 year olds).