Havana Worldwide and Legal Aspects

Following the JEP's coverage, the Mirror was the first to pick up on the story, followed by the Daily Mail, and now the Times. It has also reached as far afield as India! Mr Sayers has apologied saying it was a "moment of madness". Personally, I think the protestors should accept this apology - what more can the poor man do?

Some of the comments I've seen (including some on my blog) supporting Mr Sayers say he had a right to refuse entry to whoever he liked. Actually, that is false, if he started turning away people because they were Jewish, Asian, coloured, etc, he would soon find himself in bigger trouble, certainly in the UK, where such practices come up against the law, see, for instance (from 2007):

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/713639.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/6335541.stm

The Sonia Deol Show on the BBC Asian Network is looking into reports of racist door policies operating at UK nightclubs. Listeners have been contacting the show with stories of how they've been refused entry to clubs simply because of the colour of their skin.

http://www.fearandlothian.com/underground/main/articles/regulars.htm

Guardian investigation carried out this week has revealed evidence of racist door policies at some of Glasgow's most high profile nightclubs. In controlled tests, adhering to the requirements of the Commission for Racial Equality, a small group of Sikh students wearing microphones were filmed attempting to gain entry to a series of clubs. Two of the clubs, which cannot be named for legal reasons, rejected the Sikh group with the excuse that the club was full or only admitting regulars, while a control group of white students directly behind them were admitted.

The second one is directly pertinent, because it was noted by witnesses at the Havana that the policy was of barring larger women while letting in men of similar size, so in fact it was a form of sex discrimination. Again in the UK, that sort of thing is banned:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1507012/Europe-blasts-away-traditional-sex-discrimination-at-golf-clubs.html

The European Union says clubs that admit both men and women but then discriminate against one sex will be outlawed by the end of 2007.

Now not all these laws may yet apply in Jersey, but some of the comments which have said "club owners can do what they like" are based in the UK, where clearly posters do not know their own laws! It doesn't surprise me in the least, as Ian Le Marquand has shown a similar ineptitude with regard to human rights legislation and the possibility of refusing bail. I've not had a chance to dig deep into the law on discrimination, but I notice that if it is not yet on the statute, it will be, and certainly the draft law says:

The Committee recommends that the authorities complete the current process of enacting legislation outlawing all racial discrimination. In accordance with Article 26, the authorities should also promulgate legislation which prohibits any discrimination and guarantees to all persons equal and effective protection against discrimination on any ground such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status

The Discrimination Law is designed to establish the areas in which discrimination should not be tolerated. It will protect anyone who suffers a detriment as a result of discrimination or a range of prohibited acts such as victimisation, unlawful advertising, harassment and other discriminatory practices in certain conditions, and will provide an enforcement mechanism for complaints brought under the Law.

It is proposed that the scope of the law should extend to employment, including selection for employment, treatment of employees, contract workers, partnerships, professional or trade organisations, professional bodies and vocational training, and also discrimination in education, provision of goods, facilities and services, access to and use of public premises, disposal or management of premises and membership of clubs.

UK News:

http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=239642&in_page_id=34
http://www.the-latest.com/club-owner-bars-women-for-being-too-fat
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/jersey/7531553.stm
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2008/07/29/jersey-nightclub-bans-girls-for-being-too-fat-115875-20675280/

and in India:

http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/world-news/nightclub-refuses-entry-to-too-fat-girls_10077317.html
http://living.oneindia.in/insync/2008/nightclub-overweight-girls-300708.html
http://www.newstrackindia.com/printnews/8952


http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/article4425915.ece


A nightclub that barred fat women has backed down after international protests and claims that it was guilty of discrimination. The Havana nightclub in St Helier, Jersey, was accused of barring larger women while letting in men of similar size. Almost 1,000 people have joined an internet-based campaign calling for a boycott of the club and a protest on Friday night. More than 20 women are reported to be preparing to give statements to police claiming that they suffered discrimination. Police were called to the club on Saturday night to prevent public disorder after Martin Sayers, the club's manager, and his door staff started turning away larger women.


Georgina Mason, 23, one of the women refused entry, told the Jersey Evening Post: "About five or six or us got to Havana at about 11.30pm and the bouncers said we were not allowed in because we were too big." Miss Mason, a bank worker, said: "I told them not to be ridiculous and asked to speak to the manager. When the manager came out he would not look at me directly but said that they had received many complaints about fat people and he told me, 'Go and lose some weight before you can come in - fat people are bad for business'."

Jemma Warner, who saw larger women being turned away, said: "The man himself was far, far away from what we might call male perfection, making the situation somewhat ironic. Boycott the Havana club because this kind of discrimination is way more ugly then any kind of body shape."


Kierra Myles, who was also at the club, said: "Does this mean larger people can't go out and have a good time? Should they hide away because they might be overweight? As if there is not enough pressure on young girls to be thin and have the - in my opinion, disgusting - size-zero look. Then you have narrow-minded people like that stopping people that are perfectly happy within themselves from going out and having a good time."

Jersey's chief medical officer highlighted obesity as a key challenge in her recent annual report. However, the island has a relatively low level of obesity, with about half of adults classified as overweight or obese, compared with about two thirds in mainland Britain.

Mr Sayers, who has run the club, which has a capacity of 380, since 1992, defended his actions initially, saying: "We got a lot of people that I'd classify as morbidly obese and we were getting complaints. I am deeply apologetic but business is not good at the minute and I was trying to protect my business."


Last night, however, he said that the ban had been dropped and he appealed for those who had been offended to come back. Mr Sayers, who admitted being overweight himself and on a diet, said: "There was an error of judgment and I would like to apologise wholeheartedly to these people and say they are welcome back to the club. The vast majority of our customers are overweight. There should not be discrimination against people for any reason and if this incident highlights that then I guess something useful has come out of it." He denied that fat women were less attractive, adding: "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/jersey/7531553.stm


Martin Sayers said he made "a wrong decision" by refusing entry to about 25 women at the Havana Club in Bath Street, St Helier, on Saturday night. "I'm just deeply sorry that people have been offended. It was a poor decision made," he said. He was highly embarrassed over a "moment of madness" which would not be repeated, he told BBC News."Anyone who was turned away will be very welcome in the future - there will be no restrictions," he said. "I don't like upsetting people. I just offer my apologies unreservedly.