A coalition of charities, trade unions, sex-worker-led organisations and academics has urged MSPs to reject Ash Regan’s proposed bill to criminalise the purchase of sex, warning it would endanger women.
The recent campaign has also highlighted divisions within Scotland’s trade union movement.
The open letter, signed by 49 groups including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the National Ugly Mugs charity and several trade unions, opposes the so-called “Nordic Model”, which makes it a crime to buy sex but not to sell it.
While several individual unions have backed the letter opposing criminalisation, the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) — the national federation representing Scotland’s trade unions — has clarified that its own policy supports criminalising the purchase of sex.
An STUC spokesperson said: “Whilst recognising there are a range of views across our movement, the STUC Women’s Committee and wider STUC has clear policy which supports the criminalising of the purchase of sex.”
The trade unions signing the letter include ASLEF, the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union, Equity and PCS — all STUC affiliates. Academics from Glasgow, Napier and Sheffield universities also signed.
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The signatories call on MSPs to base policy “on evidence rather than ideology” and warn that Scotland’s public has already rejected moves to criminalise clients.
Ms Regan’s Prostitution (Offences and Support) (Scotland) Bill aims to target buyers while repealing offences for people selling sex.
Under the proposed legislation, offenders could face fines of up to £10,000 or imprisonment. The bill would also create a legal right to support and “exit routes” for those wishing to leave prostitution.
However, the letter argues that criminalising clients would push sex work further underground, making it more dangerous and isolating for those involved.
It cites evidence from Ireland, where reported crimes against sex workers almost doubled after similar laws were introduced in 2017, and from France, where a Médecins du Monde study found 42% of workers were more exposed to violence and 78% lost income.
The letter also highlights that “no current sex workers were consulted during the drafting of this bill,” adding: “It is unacceptable for the people whose lives will actually be affected by this bill to have had no say in the matter.
"It is vital that policymaking is based on evidence rather than ideology and does not seek to moralise — but rather, to create the best environment possible for vulnerable groups in society. In order to do so, consider sex workers’ autonomy and our ability to ask for what we know is best for us. Nothing about us, without us.”
Currently, it is not illegal to buy or sell sex in Scotland, though activities such as brothel-keeping and loitering remain criminal offences.
Ms Regan says her bill would reduce demand and tackle sexual exploitation.
Police Scotland has backed the principles, saying it shifts responsibility from vulnerable people to those who pay for sex.
However, sex-worker organisations warn the proposals would drive the trade further underground.
Supporters of the bill do include women who were formerly in prostitution, such as Fiona Broadfoot, chief executive of Build A Girl UK, and Diane Martin CBE of A Model for Scotland.
The letter, coordinated by Scotland for Decrim, points to research showing similar laws abroad have increased risks for sex workers.
Supporters of the Nordic Model argue it helps combat trafficking by cutting demand, but the letter contends trafficking is driven by poverty and inequality, not prostitution itself, and criminalising clients increases risks for the most marginalised.
It also notes that under similar laws abroad, sex workers can still face prosecution for “brothel-keeping” if they share premises for safety.
However, Ms Regan has cited other international examples — including Sweden, where prostitution was criminalised under the Nordic Model in 1999 — to argue in favour of her bill, saying the practice has been reduced to “a very low level” there.
She resigned from the Alba Party earlier this month to focus on criminalising the purchase of sex before the end of the parliamentary session.
Earlier this month, a poll from Find Out Now commissioned by the MSP found that, when asked, 68% of people said they backed “stronger laws against buying sex as a way of tackling pimping, organised crime and sex trafficking”.
A spokesperson for Ash Regan MSP said: "Prostitution is a form of violence against women. That’s not just Ash Regan’s personal opinion, it is the view of the Scottish Government, COSLA and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls.
"The public agree that stronger laws are needed to tackle pimps, address human trafficking and organised crime. These are the people that sex buyers fund at the expense of inflicting violence on women.
"The proposals in Ash Regan’s Unbuyable Bill are already the policy of the Governing SNP and polling continues to show that a clear majority backs the Bill.
"Scots across the political spectrum want an end to the buying of women’s bodies and they expect Parliament to act, Ash Regan will continue to encourage her fellow MSPs to do so.”
MSPs from across the SNP, Labour and Conservative parties have voiced support for the bill.
However, the Scottish Government has expressed “significant and deep concerns,” telling The Herald that evidence on the Nordic Model’s effectiveness is limited. It has described prostitution as a form of violence against women in its Equally Safe strategy but has not indicated whether it will support the bill.
Both the Scottish Liberal Democrats and Scottish Greens are expected to oppose the proposals based on party policy.
Holyrood’s Criminal Justice Committee will continue taking evidence before publishing its recommendations later this year.
