Filming strippers without their consent is no heroic act in the fight for women's rights

The best of Voices delivered to your inbox every week - from controversial columns to expert analysis Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. This week, the group’s attention turned back to stripping, in the form of an ongoing sting operation in which it hired a gang of former police officers working as private investigators to secretly film women stripping at work to prove that “full nude lap dancing in a discreet environment” was taking place in some clubs. “We have a right to our body, despite what we do for a job, and they’ve taken that right completely away from us.” The United Voices of the World union, which has been working to help sex workers and strippers “fight the industry from within” since last year, called the group’s investigation an example of “revenge porn” – I can’t see any reason to disagree with that. The fact that Not Buying It was more willing to work with former police officers – that is, men and women who have worked for an institution already accused of disproportionately targeting sex workers – than the very women they say they’re fighting for sends a disappointingly clear message. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events These groups say that it’s impossible to accept both that sex work can be exploitative and also that sex workers have the right to demand better safety and fairer conditions in their workplace.