A former sex worker has told MSPs that Scotland must “put the not for sale sign out” and back new legislation that would make it a criminal offence to buy sex, however, critics warn of 'further danger' if the bill introduced.
Diane Martin CBE, who was prostituted in what she described as “the supposed high end” of London, gave evidence to the Scottish Parliament’s Criminal Justice Committee as it considered the Prostitution (Offences and Support) (Scotland) Bill, introduced by Alba MSP Ash Regan.
The proposed law would criminalise those who purchase sex, while decriminalising those who sell it. Offenders could face fines of up to £10,000 or imprisonment.
Currently, it is not illegal to buy or sell sex in Scotland, but activities such as brothel-keeping and loitering are criminalised.
Ms Regan’s bill, which is at stage one in the Scottish Parliament, seeks to introduce the so-called Nordic model. It would criminalise the purchase of sex while removing the offence of soliciting to sell sex.
Today, Ms Martin, representing A Model for Scotland, said she “wholeheartedly supports every aspect of the bill”, arguing that prostitution is a form of violence against women.
“It is no different if you are in a five-star hotel or in an alley,” she said. “We think of ourselves as a progressive country, and we need to put the not for sale sign out.”
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She welcomed the Bill’s proposal to quash an offence which currently criminalises soliciting, saying such convictions have a “long-term impact on women and their ability to move on from sexual exploitation.”
“Women should not be charged for male violence,” she added. “Our focus must be on those perpetrators and supporting those women to exit.”
Ms Martin also urged the committee to reject claims that criminalising sex buyers would endanger sex workers or push prostitution underground.
“These are myths that I’ve been listening to for 20 years,” she said. “It does reduce prostitution where this legislation is in place. It makes it an inhospitable environment for traffickers — and right now, Scotland is not inhospitable to traffickers.”
She pointed to Sweden’s Nordic Model, introduced in 1999, as evidence that such laws can be effective, adding that “buyers have been invisible for too long” and that accountability was needed.
“The argument that it would push prostitution underground is a complete logical fallacy,” she said. “The buyer has to be in contact with the person selling sex — it can’t go underground.”
For sex worker Amanda Jane Quick, representing Nordic Model Now!, told the committee she too supports the proposals.
Having been raped at 18 by a client in a brothel, she said she was later pressured to stay in prostitution while pregnant because “men liked young pregnant women”.
She described prostitution as something that “thrives on silence and thrives on violence,” adding that selling sex “can never be made safe.”
“No man is going to come out of a brothel waving a flag that he’s just bought sex — it always has to stay underground,” she said. “When I sold sex, I was also selling silence and secrets, not just my body.”
Ms Quick said the Bill could act as a deterrent, reducing demand and violence while shifting public attitudes.
“It is not a birthright to buy sex,” she said. “It might be an urge or a need, but it is not a right.”
Bronagh Andrew, operations manager for TARA (Trafficking Awareness Raising Alliance) and Routes Out Services, said her organisation “fully supports” the Bill.
“There’s no version of the bill that wouldn’t have our support,” she said. “Paying for sex causes harm to a significant number of women. It is overwhelmingly men who pay for sex, and overwhelmingly women who sell it. That needs to be understood — this is not a harmless activity.”
She also questioned whether any vetting could make prostitution safe.
“Sex buyers don’t go around with good or bad written on their forehead,” she said. “I’m not sure what vetting would prevent or mitigate the significant risk for someone isolated in a private space.”
However, campaigners against the bill have warned that the proposed legislation could increase danger for sex workers.
Laura Baillie, from Scotland for Decrim, told the committee that “any form of criminalisation, whether of the buyer or the seller, increases the likelihood of violence against sex workers threefold.”
“It puts them in more danger because it limits their ability to conduct safety checks,” she said, warning that an app used by sex workers to share warnings about violent clients could be forced offline if the law was passed.
Niki Adams, of the English Collective of Prostitutes, said there was “no evidence” that criminalising sex buyers reduces prostitution, arguing the Bill fails to tackle “the poverty, homelessness, lack of pay equity, expensive childcare and many other reasons” that push women into sex work.
“We agree with the aim of reducing prostitution,” Ms Adams said, “but we don’t understand why the focus isn’t on ending women’s poverty.”
The Scottish Government has previously described prostitution as a form of violence against women, but has not yet indicated whether it will support Regan’s proposals.
Community Safety Minister Siobhian Brown previously stressed to The Herald that while the Scottish Government backed the “underlying intent of the bill to challenge men’s demand and to tackle commercial sexual exploitation”, there were still “significant questions and concerns regarding the measures within the bill and how they would work in practice, the extent to which they would deliver on the policy intent, and the associated financial implications”.
Ms Brown stated that quashing convictions, which the bill aims to do for those involved in prostitution, was an “exceptional” measure and “not a step that can be taken lightly”.
The Herald understands both the Scottish Liberal Democrats and the Greens will not support the bill based on their party policy around prostitution
The Criminal Justice Committee will continue to take evidence before publishing its recommendations on the Bill later this year.
