State passes strippers’ bill of rights as part of sweeping protections for dancers
A bill to afford broad protections to strippers across Washington was passed by the state legislature late Tuesday night.
The so-called “strippers’ bill of rights” mandates security guards at clubs, coded keypads for dressing rooms, sexual harassment training for all employees at strip clubs, and specific procedures for violent customers. It also institutes requirements for panic buttons, and would allow strip clubs to apply for liquor licenses as either taverns or night clubs as part of a repeal of a state-level restriction.
Advocates for the bill lauded its passage, a year after it had failed in its first attempt in the legislature.
“We are in shock,” Strippers Are Workers WA (SAW) said on social media. “We could NEVER have done it without every SAW organizer from our founders to those of you who joined us even in the past few days. This was a marathon, and we never would have made it this far if it wasn’t for our allies- journalists, lobbyists, labor organizers, lawyers, anti-trafficking orgs, the pole dance community, the sex worker community, the queer community.”
The bill will now go to Gov. Jay Inslee’s desk to be signed into law.
