Sex assault group proposes tax on Indiana strip clubs

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INDIANAPOLIS – A group that helps victims of sexual assault wants Indiana legislators to enact a $5 tax for strip club customers.

Erik Scheub of the Indiana Coalition Against Sexual Assault tells WRTV-TV that two-thirds of the state’s 92 counties offer inadequate services for survivors of sex crimes. The only state funding amounts to about $25,000 a year.

Julian Center executive director Melissa Pershing says Indiana’s rape crisis centers are “woefully underfunded.”

Scheub says a $5 tax charged patrons at the doors of Texas strip clubs generates more $10 million a year. Utah and Illinois also have recently enacted taxes or surcharges to fund programs for victims.

Proponents of the strip club tax say there’s a strong link between adult entertainment and sexual abuse.