UK Sex Shop News

The Bishop of Birkenhead, Julie Conalty, is supporting pupils from Sandbach High School who are campaigning to prevent the sexualisation of school uniforms by the porn industry and well-known retailers.

Bishop Conalty became aware of their petition to ban school uniforms in sex shops and pornography through social media. More than 15,000 people have signed, prompting a government response.

A teacher at the school, Sarah Maile, said:

Our older students mentioned that once they'd moved into the sixth form, when they weren't wearing their school uniforms anymore . . . they were experiencing sexual harassment less.

The petition reads:

Ban school uniforms in sex shops and pornography

We urge the Government to make it illegal for school uniforms to be displayed and sold within sex shops to stop the sexualisation of children. We also think it is vital for pornography to ban displaying videos where school uniforms are worn as a costume.

It is disgusting that the sexualisation and fetishisation of children is apparently condoned by these establishments and companies. In the UK school uniforms are worn by most students until the age of 16.

We believe their sale in sex shops and use as costumers in pornography is glamorising and normalising sexual acts with children. This is capitalising off of the sexual exploitation of children and prioritising profit over the safety of millions of children. By allowing this to be legal it perpetuates a society in which people feel it is acceptable to sexualise children.

The government response notes:

The Government does not intend to take this specific action at this time but remains firmly committed to preventing the sexualisation of children through the robust measures that are already in place.

The Government is committed to keeping children safe from all forms of abuse and already has a range of robust offences to protect children from sexual exploitation and exposure to harmful material.

Although currently the sale of school uniform-like clothing does not fall within this bracket, there are a number of offences which can be considered to prosecute individuals involved in the advertisement for sale, distribution and/or importation of items such as child-like sex dolls. The offences include: the Customs Consolidation Act 1876, which prohibits the importation of indecent and obscene material; the Obscene Publications Act 1959, which prohibits the publishing of an obscene article; the Indecent Displays (Control) Act 1981, which prohibits the public display of indecent matter; and the Postal Services Act 2000, which prohibits the sending by post of indecent or obscene articles.

The Government encourages corporate responsibility from both manufacturers and retailers with regard to sexualised merchandise. Local Authorities ultimately have responsibility to ensure that the advertisement and sale of items and products do not contravene any establishments trading legislation.

Parents and consumers share concerns about the commercialisation and sexualisation of children, including the sale of novelty clothing products aimed at the adult market. We recognise that this is a highly subjective issue, intimately bound up with notions such as good and bad taste, personal preferences, and the ability to exercise choice. However, it is not for the UK Government to dictate the types of novelty clothing retailers can sell nor to comment on day-to-day commercial decisions by companies.

Adults Only, a Darlington sex shop, has closed after 53 years of pleasing customers with its quirky offerings.

Established in 1969, the Adults Only store on Grange Road has been serving customers with erotic offerings but is now up for let.

At one point, Darlington had four sex shops, but now only has one, Simply Pleasure, on Bondgate.

We were informed by shop staff at a local Private Shop that the company has been sold to a new company called Love Empire. There is a shop in Portsmouth named Love Empire, but is not clear whether this is connected.

 

Update: Darker Enterprises Dark

24th August 2022. See article from erotictradeonly.com

Darker Enterprises, the firm behind retail chain Private Shops, has been placed into receivership under the control of business recovery specialists Begbies Traynor.

Erotic Trade Only understands that a significant number of Darker's stores have been, or are in the process of being, acquired and will continue to trade.

A decision over a Barmouth sex shop licence has been delayed.

Owners of the sho Eva Amour applied for a licence but have had to wait a year until the council adopted the necessary powers to grant a licence.

The business was based in Wrexham and moved to Barmouth last year. The owners invested £30,000 to refit the former butcher's shop in St Anne's Square, High Street and applied for the licence in January 2021. Co-director David Powley said:

It provoked some reaction from the local community who thought we were going to be like that 1970s, 1980s seedy sort of place not the upmarket venture Eva Amour is.

But we have won over hearts and minds in Barmouth. Since we've moved and opened up the shop, we've had nothing but support.

The shop began trading without a licence in November. In December the council adopted its new discretionary powers.

The original application met with ludicrous objections such as fears of an increase sex tourism and attracting the wrong type of visitors. Now the owners are contending that as the shop has been open with such fears being borne out, then the old objections should be discarded with the application starting afresh.

A Gwynedd Council spokesperson said:

Following comments submitted by the applicant, the Council's General Licensing Sub-Committee hearing regarding this application has been delayed for the time being.