The Herald: Sex workers in bid to stop Ash Regan’s ‘dangerous’ bill
Scottish sex workers have launched a bid to oppose a “dangerous” new law proposed by Alba MSP Ash Regan that would criminalise the purchase of sexual services in Scotland.
The campaign has been set up to oppose the former SNP minister’s Prostitution (Offences And Support) (Scotland) Bill, which is set to be presented to the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday.
Sex workers have warned that the legislation would put them in more danger, pushing the industry underground, increasing stigma, and exposing people to more violence and poverty.
Campaigners are urging members of the public to use a new online tool to email their MSP urging him or her to vote against the bill which would introduce a ‘Nordic Model” – which is an approach to prostitution that criminalises sex workers clients and many of the ways the sex trade operates.
It is based on the feminist position that that all sex work is exploitative and no person can willingly consent to work in the area.
However, it is opposed by sex workers internationally as well as human rights organizations like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, who have called for the full decriminalisation of sex work.
A YouGov poll of 1,088 Scottish adults, carried out last year, showed that 47% Scots said it should be legal for a person to pay someone to have sex with them, versus 32% who think it should not be legal.
The poll showed that 69% of Scots believed MSPs should focus on protecting the health and safety of sex workers, and providing support to people who want to leave the industry, compared to14% who support new laws to prevent people exchanging sexual services for money.
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 opposed to Ms Regan’s member’s bill 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.”
A spokesperson for the English Collective of Prostitutes, which represents sex workers across the UK, said: “If Ash Regan wants to reduce prostitution she should look at reducing women’s poverty, and specifically mothers’ poverty, which is pushing more and more women into prostitution. Criminalisation of sex work increases violence and discrimination against sex workers. We want decriminalisation so that women are no longer branded as criminals for working to feed themselves and their families.”
Ms Regan said: “No woman or girl should be in a position where selling access to her body is the only way to survive. The Unbuyable Bill is rooted in human rights and equality, recognising prostitution as a form of commercial sexual exploitation, not framed as work to be normalised.
“Criminalising those who purchase sex targets the demand that fuels abuse, trafficking and lifelong trauma. This is about reducing harm, not ignoring it.
“I will always listen, but I will never accept that safety comes from legitimising exploitation or that prostitution is a solution to poverty in Scotland in 2025.”
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/25174266.sex-workers-bid-oppose-ash-regans-dangerous-bill/