A new nightclub in Scotland is being investigated by police and other Glasgow city officials after a newspaper investigation revealed the club had installed two-way mirrors in its women's bathrooms, exposing the women to viewers in two private rooms.
The Scottish Sunday Express broke the story this weekend, claiming they've seen photos showing men posing in front of the two-way mirrors, with women using the bathroom behind them. The paper said there were no signs or notifications in the bathroom or club notifying the women they were being watched.
Several female club-goers interviewed by the paper expressed shock at the revelations. “I find it absolutely outrageous that a club can get away with this, it is a complete invasion of privacy of the unsuspecting girls,” one said. “Nowhere is it made clear that this is the case so when visiting the bathroom for the first time, there are women bending over the sink, pouting into the mirror to redo their lipstick, adjusting themselves whilst unknowingly being watched by people on the other side.”
When reporters from the the Sunday Express contacted the club posing as potential clients, they were told the the private rooms, which cost over $1200 to rent, were not available to male or mixed gender groups. Photos online reportedly show otherwise.
Everyone, this is a photo of the "secret" two way mirror in the female toilets of@shimmyclub in Glasgow. Disgrace! twitter.com/codeinedrums/s…
— Lauren Martin (@codeinedrums) May 20, 2013
When the Express asked the club for official comment, they didn't receive a response.
However, on Monday the Shimmy Club responded to the growing controversy on their Facebook page, saying the two-way mirror was “created as a bit of fun, an interactive feature which we hoped would act as a talking point.” As for those offended by the concept, the club writes, “its (sic) clear that those who are negatively commenting on line may not have been lucky enough to get past the door staff yet.” The club did, however, say they would remove the mirrors “if your feedback (and not that of the media) is that you want the mirror area to change.”
Those changes, if they do happen, might occur too late for the club to avoid legal trouble; The Guardian reports that Scottish police and and Glasgow city council are investigating the club after receiving complaints.
[Image via Lauren Martin]
To contact the author of this post, email taylor@gawker.com