Swiss study highlights cabaret dancer abuses

www.swissinfo.org

August 30, 2006

Cabaret dancers in Switzerland still face many abuses despite moves to improve their working conditions, according to a study.

The Zurich-based Women's Information Centre (FIZ), which commissioned the report, said many women were sexually exploited or were forced to drink excessive amounts of alcohol.

The study, carried out on behalf of FIZ by the Swiss Forum for Migration and Population Studies, surveyed 70 dancers from 11 countries.

Presenting the findings on Wednesday, FIZ said that almost all the dancers were forced to offer services that were not included in their work contracts or were illegal.

This included encouraging men to buy expensive alcohol ­ a key source of income for cabaret clubs ­ and offering sexual services.

Many dancers said they were regularly expected to work longer hours than stated in their contracts and that their salaries were subject to irregularities.

Marianne Schertenleib, from FIZ, told swissinfo that despite more regulations to protect dancers over the past ten years, the situation had actually become worse.

Cabaret clubs are now struggling to survive because of competition from saunas and contact bars," she said.

"Dancers earn even less than they used to and have to fight even harder for a new contract which makes them very vulnerable. Cabaret owners exploit this to give them more power over the dancers."

Currently there are up to 1,800 cabaret dancers working in Switzerland.