Latest news with #UnbuyableBill
The Herald Scotland
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
'It shouldn't be illegal for men to buy sex' Ash Regan bill won't work
The details of his crimes are harrowing and heartbreaking. The case exposed just how deeply seated the police's systemic bias towards sex workers was. Just how vile and entrenched its institutional racism towards Indigenous people was – many of the missing women were Indigenous. Read more The failures in this case made one thing crystal clear. To the police in Vancouver, sex workers had no value. Pleas from families and the community to trace missing women were ignored over and over again. To say the results were devastating is an understatement. It is for this reason that I do not think sex workers or the people (men) who buy sex should be criminalised. Because the involvement of police with prostitution historically does not bode well for the women involved. It also ignores the agency of women in sex work and ensures the industry remains stigmatised. And marginalises those within it further. This week, Alba MSP Ash Regan introduced her 'Unbuyable Bill'. The Prostitution (Offences and Support) (Scotland) Bill would see the buying of sex criminalised and the selling of sexual services decriminalised. It hinges on the principle that prostitution is a form of male violence against women. The Bill would also quash historic convictions and create a statutory right to support for those in and exiting prostitution. Essentially following the Nordic model. Though, will those statutory support services be funded properly? If not, they are redundant. Right now, in Scotland, the sale of sex is not illegal, but it might as well be. Running a brothel and soliciting or loitering in public to sell sex are against the law. In Canada after the Robert Pickton trial concluded, outrage over the way the way the missing women were ignored led to the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry. A direct result of the inquiry was a new policing strategy in Vancouver that effectively decriminalised sex work. Alba MSP Ash Regan (Image: free) The result was meaningful change, and sex workers were safer for it. But despite recommendations to replicate the Vancouver approach nationwide, in 2014, Stephen Harper's Conservative Government introduced Bill C-36, which followed the Nordic model. Buying sex became illegal. Advertising someone's sexual services was criminalised. So was accepting money to place those ads and profiting from someone's sexual services. It has been more than ten years since the Nordic Model was introduced in Canada, and sex workers have argued that it still polices sex work, and they still face harassment from the force. They also say that it makes it more difficult to screen clients, which pushes the industry further into the shadows. The other issue is that the model does not recognise the autonomy of sex workers. Not all sex work is survival sex work, and no abolitionist policy will be able to control the fact that consensual sex work does exist. Bill C-36, like the 'Unbuyable Bill', is rooted in radical feminist and abolitionist views. The law claims to address gender inequality and coercion, but it paradoxically limits women's ability to choose sex work, keeps their circumstances criminalised and fails to provide viable alternatives. A paper published in the Melbourne Journal of International Law found that if you separate Bill C-36's rhetorical claims from its actual effects, the law in reality 'is exposed as little more than a moralising condemnation of female sex workers, designed to limit their freedoms and capacity for self-determination, in order to induce their exit from sex work, in a manner which is wholly irreconcilable with the pursuit of 'gender equality'.' Legislating sex work is inherently difficult. It's crucial to make sure that the most vulnerable are protected, but it's contentious to paint everyone with the same brush. In Ireland, where buying sex was criminalised in 2015, sex workers reported that demand actually increased following the introduction of the new legislation. A report on the new law by the Department of Justice published in 2019 found that the law had a 'minimal effect' on demand. Sex workers also reported a heightened fear of crime, and it contributed to a climate where they felt even more marginalised and stigmatised. READ MORE MARISSA MACWHIRTER Scotland has a history of institutionalised abuse of working-class women and girls that is intertwined with its view of the 'social evil' of prostitution. The Glasgow System of the mid-nineteenth century saw the systemic policing of women and girls. Aged from seven to 39, they were plucked off the streets by police officers at will and taken to places like the Magdalene Asylum or the Lock Hospital for brutal and intimate examinations (often carried out by men) and barbaric treatments for venereal disease that often killed them. The Lochburn Magdalene Institution closed in 1960. Not that long ago. The case of Emma Caldwell, a 27-year-old woman murdered in 2005 by serial rapist Iain Packer, highlights how stigma against sex workers remains a serious issue in Scotland, just as it does in Canada. Failures in the police investigation have led to a forthcoming independent public inquiry. It took 19 years for Packer to be brought to justice. Regan's Bill is good in the sense that it has sparked fresh debate about the rights of sex workers. Though the reality of it becoming law before Scottish Parliament elections in 2026 is pretty unlikely. As in Canada, decriminalising sex work does not win as many votes as clamping down on it. And the Nordic model, as far as I am concerned, is still a crackdown. Shifting the burden of criminality does not constitute gender equality. Marissa MacWhirter is a columnist and feature writer at The Herald, and the editor of The Glasgow Wrap. The newsletter is curated between 5-7am each morning, bringing the best of local news to your inbox each morning without ads, clickbait, or hyperbole. Oh, and it's free. She can be found on X @marissaamayy1
Edinburgh Reporter
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Edinburgh Reporter
Ash Regan's Unbuyable Bill lodged in parliament
Ash Regan MSP formally lodged a bill in parliament this week creating a new offence of paying for sexual acts, and ending the criminalisation for sex workers. The name of the bill – Proposed Prostitution (Offences and Support) (Scotland) Bill, has led to it being dubbed the 'Unbuyable Bill'. The legislation aims to repeal the offence of soliciting or importuning by prostitutes, and to repeal any previous convictions in connection with those offences. Instead it will criminalise the buying of sex. It is also intended as a way of supporting those who are in or trying to leave prostitution. In January this year the final proposal for the Member's Bill was lodged in parliament after a consultation had been conducted and the bill attracted cross-party support. Ash Regan PHOTO Alan Simpson Ms Regan said she was delighted that the Nordic Approach may yet find its way into law – even though it will be 25 years after Sweden introduced similar legislation. This model has already been adopted elsewhere including Northern Ireland. Ahead of the Bill's formal introduction, Ms Regan said: 'Prostitution is not a job like any other, as some lobby groups claim. It is a system of commercial sexual exploitation that targets the vulnerable, is driven by demand and is enabled by silence. Commodifying human beings has consequences – it's time we reframe the shame. 'I am proud to bring commercial sexual exploitation out of the shadows into a debate across Scotland, by formally lodging the Unbuyable Bill in Parliament. Unbuyable is the first key step in tackling attitudes that have shamefully normalised inequality of the sexes and underpinned the scourge of male violence against women 'It is a Bill forged by those who have survived the system of exploitation, for their own recovery and for those still trapped inside or vulnerable to such exploitation. It recognises what so many are afraid to say: that buying sexual access to a human being is a form of male violence. 'We must reframe shame. It does not belong to exploited women and men – it belongs to the men who buy them.' 'The Bill aligns with the Nordic Model— adopted in countries such as Sweden, Norway, France, and Ireland—and marks a departure from the failed approach of decriminalising the sex trade, without addressing the root cause and consequences of commodifying human beings: demand. 'On-street prostitution has been criminalised for 17 years in Scotland yet none of the pimp lobby's predictions have materialised, few convictions of buyers have been made in over the last ten years and critically the demand has not diminished – it has just moved off street. 'Scotland faces a choice. Do we continue with piecemeal initiatives to reduce harm from visible prostitution, with fragile support funding for those exploited, or will we confront the injustice of commercial sexual exploitation head-on? 'Sweden was the first to adopt what we now know as the Nordic Model twenty-five years ago, so it is the same age as our Scottish devolved Parliament. 'The Scottish Government and COSLA's Equally Safe strategy explicitly recognise prostitution as a form of violence against women and girls (VAWG), framing prostitution within the broader context of gender inequality and male entitlement and identifying it as a manifestation of systemic abuse. 'The UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and Girls, Reem Alsalem, has explicitly recognised prostitution as a form of violence against women and girls, with her 2024 report to the UN Human Rights Council stating that prostitution is intrinsically linked to various forms of violence and constitutes a violation of human rights. 'If Scotland is ready to stand up for women's human rights and dignity, we must legislate, and to do that, my Unbuyable Bill needs public support. I have been overwhelmed by the support and encouragement from frontline services, women's support groups and many others across Scotland and beyond, but that won't be enough. I'm calling on every Scot who believes women are not for sale to join the campaign and make their voices heard. 'No one is unbuyable—until the law clearly says so.' For and against Supporters of the Bill believe that the commodification of women's bodies makes a strong, healthy and just society impossible. They support criminalising the buyers because this sends a strong signal to all of Scotland that women are unbuyable, that we do not condone a practice as inherently harmful as prostitution and that we support its victims. Supporters also believe that this Bill will have an effect not just on those involved in buying and selling sexual acts, but on all of society. Almost all of the supportive respondents who answered this question share the conviction that it will improve the equality between the sexes, safeguard vulnerable women and girls, reduce human trafficking, have a positive effect on public health and so make Scotland a better society for future generations. Frontline services share a strong belief that only legislation of this kind will improve the lives of women and girls involved in prostitution. They also believe that only if these women and girls are protected and no longer freely buyable will Scottish society achieve true equality, fairness and justice. Opponents of the Bill say that it will worsen working and living conditions for sellers of sexual acts, put them at greater risk of harm and leave them worse off. They do not believe that there will be an effect on society. Some respondents also believe that the Bill is a waste of time, will worsen inequality and increase stigma for sellers of sexual acts. Ms Regan, who leads Alba at Holyrood, said: 'This proposal for a Bill is about protecting Scotland's most vulnerable from commercial sexual exploitation of prostitution and the harms that result. This is a critical step in reframing shame in the battle to remove the scourge of male violence against women in Scotland.' The Edinburgh Eastern MSP said in her final document produced for parliament: 'A Nordic Model approach, successfully implemented in countries like Sweden and Norway, promises a more compassionate, effective solution. By criminalising the purchase of sex and decriminalising those who sell it, we hold buyers to account and recognise the true victims of exploitation. Alongside that, granting legal rights to support – exit services, counselling, and real alternatives – ensures that the women involved have a genuine path out of prostitution. We can also reduce demand by rolling out public awareness campaigns that challenge harmful gender stereotypes and uphold the principle that women's bodies are not commodities.' Read more here. AGAINST A campaign has been set up by Scottish sex workers to fight the introduction of the proposed new law. The Scotland for Decrim campaign will oppose Ms Regan's bill. The campaign says that the bill will make sex work far less safe. They refer to an official government review of similar legislation in Northern Ireland – the only nation in the UK to enact the Nordic Model – found that there was 'no evidence that the offence of purchasing sexual services has produced a downward pressure on the demand for, or supply of, sexual services'. It also found that 'the legislation has contributed to a climate whereby sex workers feel further marginalised and stigmatised'. A spokesperson for the campaign said: 'Scotland for Decrim absolutely rejects Ash Regan's attempts to bring in the Nordic Model on sex work in Scotland. As a sex worker-led coalition campaigning for our rights, we know that this offensive bill will endanger sex workers by exposing us to more violence, poverty, and exploitation. Criminalising clients does not solve the reasons why people go into sex work: because of financial need, caring responsibilities, disability, or simply preferring this work to other kinds of work. 'Sex workers are the experts on our own needs. We know that only full decriminalisation will protect our safety, health, and human rights, giving us the power to choose when and how we work. The Scottish Government must also urgently strengthen the social security system so that everyone has access to the resources they need to live, and so that no one has to do sex work if they don't want to. 'This Nordic Model bill would be disastrous for sex workers' safety, as we have seen in other countries where this model has been implemented and sex workers have experienced more violence from clients and the police. Sex workers don't want this, the Scottish public doesn't want this, and politicians from a range of parties oppose this dangerous bill.' Lynsey Walton, chief executive of National Ugly Mugs, the UK's national sex worker safety charity, said: 'This bill won't reduce harm; it will increase it. Criminalising the purchase of sex doesn't protect anyone. It pushes sex work further underground, makes it harder for people to report violence, and forces those already at risk into even more dangerous situations. 'NUM stands in solidarity with sex workers across Scotland who are calling for safety, not criminalisation. We hear every day what they need: access to justice, housing, healthcare, and a voice in the laws that shape their lives. This bill ignores that—and it puts lives at risk. 'It's therefore no surprise that opinion polling shows Scots overwhelmingly oppose Ash Regan's plans for the Nordic Model, alongside international organisations such as Amnesty, UN Aids and the World Health Organisation.' Loading… Like this: Like Related
Scotsman
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Scotsman
Euan McColm: Tolerance of prostitution or pretending it is a choice is turning a blind eye to abuse and criminality
Men who pay for sex are conspirators in the destruction of lives. Shouldn't they be considered criminals? Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... When the late Margo MacDonald brought plans for the creation of prostitution 'tolerance zones' to the Scottish Parliament two decades ago, she made a compelling case that it was the compassionate thing to do. Despite the euphemism 'sex work', prostitution is not, for the majority, work. It is a prison. Picture: Djavan Rodriguez This was not, she said, about supporting the sale of sex but about protecting those women who did so. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The majority of MacDonald's fellow MSPs disagreed with her and the idea was abandoned. In those days, prostitution was already tolerated in parts of the country. In Edinburgh, in particular, massage parlours – the Sunday-best name for brothels – operated with impunity. Behind grand New Town facades, fine upstanding men were buying women by the hour. The argument in favour of police and the local authority turning a blind eye to the existence of these establishments was that they provided a safer environment. Better a woman work in a brothel than she walk the streets. This position, well-intentioned though it may have been, misunderstood the reality of prostitution which is that the majority of the women involved do it where and when they are told to by the pimps who control them. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad In 2014, Leeds Council and West Yorkshire Police agreed to establish a tolerance zone in the Holbeck area of the city. This would reduce the nuisance to residents while allowing support workers to engage with women in prostitution and help them leave the sex trade. Following public protests, the Holbeck scheme ended in 2020. The bleak reality is that by turning a blind eye to the sale of sex, police were turning a blind eye to trafficking, coercion, abuse, and rape. And, in doing so they made the Holbeck area more dangerous for any woman who passed through. The Scottish Parliament was last week invited to take an intolerant view of the matter of prostitution, specifically of those men who pay women (or their pimps) for sex. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Alba MSP Ash Regan unveiled what she calls the 'Unbuyable Bill', which would criminalise the buying of sex while decriminalising those who sell it. Announcing her proposal, Regan described prostitution as a form of male violence against women. And she claimed a woman formerly in prostitution had told her she'd sold sex to sitting MSPs. This, I find perfectly easy to believe. Regan's Prostitution (Offences and Support) (Scotland) Bill would quash historic convictions and create a statutory right to support for those in – and trying to leave – prostitution. The bill seems to me to have compassion for women who sell – or are sold for – sex running through it. Different views are available. A group named Scotland for Decrim, which describes itself as a 'grassroots campaign fighting for the full decriminalisation of sex work in Scotland' says Regan's plans would endanger 'sex workers' by exposing them to more violence, poverty, and exploitation. The group uses the language of far left activists who characterise the complete decriminalisation of prostitution as a matter of liberation, rather than libertarianism. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad It is certainly true that, for some who are involved in prostitution, their work is inextricably linked to their politics. Some years ago, a politician told me of a committee hearing in which one such activist in prostitution gave evidence. The woman confidently made a number of points but under gentle questioning, repeatedly broke down in tears. Behind the ideological sloganeering, the politician in question saw – and was moved to console – a deeply troubled young woman. I prefer to avoid the comforting euphemism 'sex work'. Prostitution is not, for the majority of those engaged in it, work. It is a prison. It is not work for the women who risk their lives to feed chronic addictions, nor is it work for groomed teenagers, plied with drugs and then rented out by criminal gangs. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad And it is not work for women trafficked from overseas and forced into lives of perpetual danger and degradation. Although statistics are – for obvious reasons – difficult to obtain, recent government estimates have suggested there are around 15,000 trafficking victims in the UK. Some of those are forced into manual work or crime. Many of the women are pimped out. They are not workers. They are slaves. The myth of the empowered sex worker is enhanced by some pimps who create online profiles for the women they control on which happy photographs, upbeat descriptions of 'preferences', and enthusiastic messages about being 'on tour' are displayed. The customer is absolved of guilt because he's doing business with a strong independent woman. Even when he is not. Regan contests that, rather than being a job like any other as some activists claim, prostitution is commercial sexual exploitation that targets the vulnerable which is 'driven by demand and is enabled by silence'. This is surely not a controversial position, is it? Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Those who oppose Regan's stance talk of bodily autonomy. Who has the right to tell anyone what they can and cannot do either with or to their own bodies? This strikes me as a luxury view supportable only by the belief that everyone involved in prostitution chooses that life. We know that is very far from true. The chilling facts about the exploitation of teenage girls have been making headlines for years, now. And those who have read the dreadful details of these cases know of the horrific, life-changing injuries inflicted on some victims by men who paid to rape them. There are countless other cases of women in prostitution being abused and murdered by the men who pay to use them. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Of course, prostitution is eternal but so, too, is almost every deeply harmful thing and we don't shrug our shoulders about those. We don't stop trying to minimise violence simply because violence has always existed. Men who pay for sex are part of a ring. They support, enable, and commit acts of abuse. They are conspirators in the destruction of lives.
Daily Record
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Record
Perpetrators of violence against women have walked the corridors of our Parliament
Tuesday's press conference confirmed what many survivors have long known: Edinburgh is a hotspot for commercial sexual exploitation. This should shock no one. Where there is power, wealth and impunity, there is often exploitation. It is not a coincidence. It is a pattern. And that pattern reaches right to the heart of our politics. The Daily Record's exclusive of the disclosure to me from a brave survivor who revealed she had sold sex to sitting MSPs is heartbreaking — but sadly, it is not surprising. When you leave the Holyrood bubble and speak directly with women who have been exploited, when you do the research into the domestic and international trade in human beings for sex, you begin to see the full picture. And the picture is ugly. I have also had survivors disclose to me that some of their perpetrators have walked the corridors of our Parliament. That is the reality. When women speak up about this, they are not seeking scandal. They are exposing the power imbalance at the core of prostitution. Prostitution is not a story of free choice. It is a system in which those with power — often men, often with wealth, influence or status — buy access to the bodies of those with none. And those with the most to lose if they speak out — women facing poverty, addiction, coercion or homelessness — carry the burden of the consequences: shame, trauma, and, too often, criminal records. If we are still surprised in 2025 by revelations like this, then we have not been paying attention to how power operates. For Anas Sarwar to now call for an investigation, I would remind him: the buying of sex is not currently illegal in Scotland. That is the problem. Survivors are forced to carry the cost of speaking out, while the buyers — even those in public office — remain protected by silence and inaction. That must end. My Unbuyable Bill would criminalise the demand that fuels this system, while supporting women to exit and recover. It is based on the Nordic Model, adopted in Sweden, the very year our Scottish Parliament was founded. In 25 years, we have not had this debate. It is long overdue. The surprise about the reaction to yesterday's Daily Record front page is that people were surprised at all. Back in 2013, 'Sauna' operators in Edinburgh had drawn up lists of clients, including police officers, public officials, lawyers and celebrities in advance of the court case. They were going to name and shame them if their premises had to shut down. Why else does our nation's capital serve as the brothel capital of the UK if not for the fact that clearly Kompromat must exist to exert personal or political leverage on influential men if required? My door is open. I urge colleagues and the media alike: ask questions, conduct research, speak with survivors, and support this Bill. In 2025, it is time to bring this issue out of the shadows and into the light of the debating chamber.
STV News
20-05-2025
- Politics
- STV News
Alba MSP lodges Bill to criminalise the buying of sex in Scotland
A Bill that would criminalise the buying of sex in Scotland while decriminalising those selling sexual services has been lodged at Holyrood. Alba MSP Ash Regan said her Prostitution (Offences and Support) (Scotland) Bill would quash historic convictions and create a statutory right to support for those in and exiting prostitution. The politician said prostitution was a form of male violence towards women. Regan, a former SNP minister who is now Alba's sole MSP, said her proposals were a bold and long-overdue step towards tackling the issue. PA Media Ash Regan's Bill would decriminalise those selling sexual services (Yui Mok/PA). Sex workers who oppose the legislation, which Alba has dubbed the 'Unbuyable Bill', have warned it could be 'disastrous' for their safety. But speaking ahead of its formal introduction at the Scottish Parliament, Ms Regan said it would protect women, while putting the onus of criminality on men. She said: 'Prostitution is not a job like any other, as some lobby groups claim; it is a system of commercial sexual exploitation that targets the vulnerable, is driven by demand and is enabled by silence. 'Commodifying human beings has consequences – it's time we reframe the shame. 'Today, I am proud to bring commercial sexual exploitation out of the shadows into a debate across Scotland, by formally lodging the Unbuyable Bill in Parliament. 'Unbuyable is the first key step in tackling attitudes that have shamefully normalised inequality of the sexes and underpinned the scourge of male violence against women.' She said the Bill was 'forged' by those who had 'survived the system of exploitation' as she vowed to work with other parties to get it through Holyrood. She went on: 'It recognises what so many are afraid to say: that buying sexual access to a human being is a form of male violence. PA Media The Prostitution (Offences and Support) (Scotland) Bill was formerly lodged at Holyrood on Tuesday (Jane Barlow/PA). 'We must reframe shame. It does not belong to exploited women and men – it belongs to the men who buy them.' Regan said Bill aligns with the Nordic strategy on sex work – adopted by countries including Sweden, Norway, France, and Ireland – and would mark a departure from the 'failed approach of decriminalising the sex trade, without addressing the root cause and consequences of commodifying human beings: demand'. She added: 'On-street prostitution has been criminalised for 17 years in Scotland yet none of the pimp lobby's predictions have materialised, few convictions of buyers have been made in over the last ten years and critically the demand has not diminished – it has just moved off street. 'Scotland faces a choice. Do we continue with piecemeal initiatives to reduce harm from visible prostitution, with fragile support funding for those exploited, or will we confront the injustice of commercial sexual exploitation head on?' The Scotland for Decrim campaign, set up to oppose Regan's proposals, said it 'absolutely rejects Ash Regan's attempts to bring in the Nordic Model on sex work in Scotland'. Sex workers have 'experienced more violence from clients and the police' in countries where this system is in place, the spokesperson added. The group, which described itself as a sex worker-led coalition, went on to state that 'this offensive Bill will endanger sex workers by exposing us to more violence, poverty, and exploitation'. The spokesperson said: 'Criminalising clients does not solve the reasons why people go into sex work: because of financial need, caring responsibilities, disability, or simply preferring this work to other kinds of work. 'Sex workers are the experts on our own needs. We know that only full decriminalisation will protect our safety, health, and human rights, giving us the power to choose when and how we work. 'This Nordic Model Bill would be disastrous for sex workers' safety, as we have seen in other countries where this model has been implemented and sex workers have experienced more violence from clients and the police. 'Sex workers don't want this, the Scottish public doesn't want this, and politicians from a range of parties oppose this dangerous Bill.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
