Sex Work in Scotland

A proposal to criminalise the purchase of sex has found support according to the results of a public consultation.

Almost 1,000 people responded to Labour MSP Rhoda Grant's plan which she hopes will become law in Scotland. Of the total, 80% favour her ban. Grant claimed:

There has been an excellent response, and I now hope we can use the evidence provided to change society's attitude towards buying and selling sex, thereby protecting vulnerable people.

The primary argument that the demand to buy sex will decrease was acknowledged in the responses of those in favour and against the proposed Bill. This would have a knock-on effect on sex trafficking as Scotland would not be seen as a profitable market by traffickers. This will ultimately mean an overall decrease in the level of prostitution in the country.

Of 953 responses, 758 favoured her approach which is based on legislation in Sweden.

Of the individual responses, 47 are from people who work or worked in the sex industry . One anonymous respondent wrote:

I chose to escort for money. I enjoy it. I do not feel exploited or dehumanised. I feel liberated, excited, expressive, creative and earning good money. I am one of very few people who actually enjoys their job.

For our human, civil and labour rights. For our inclusion and decriminalisation. For freedom to choose, respect for those choices and the absolute right to say no. For the full protection of the law. For everyone in the sex industry.

Rhoda Grant MSP believes that prostitution in Scotland is a form of sexual violence against women and sexual exploitation. She believes that prostitution is inherently harmful and dehumanising and that the majority of those who are involved in prostitution are unwilling participants. She is proposing to make it illegal to purchase sex in Scotland.

Now, I know, and you know, that her assertions are simply not true. I know from years of experience at various levels in the sex industry that in fact the vast majority of sex workers are working (quite contentedly) of their own volition and to support themselves and their families. Indeed, my colleagues and I have been visiting brothels so we know the truth, and we think it's time that the truth is told.

The public consultation on Rhoda Grant's proposals for a new law to criminalise the purchase of sex is open until 14th December. This is an open consultation -- you do not have to be a resident of Scotland or the UK to respond.

All of us at SCOT-PEP have been campaigning to stop this law going through and we will continue to do so but we need YOU to use your voice too.

Are you a sex worker, a client or an individual interested in human rights and safety for sex workers? Politicians need to know the realities of sex work, so let's tell them!

• If you are a sex worker and enjoy your job, if you do not feel exploited or that it is dehumanising, harmful or degrading, SAY SO.
   
• If you choose to work as a sex worker because it is the best available option for you, SAY SO.
   
• If you see disabled clients who would otherwise never experience the joy of skin to skin contact, SAY SO.
   
• If you feel that making it illegal for your clients to pay you is not going to tackle trafficking or reduce demand but deprive you of a living, SAY SO.
   
• If you are a client, who uses the services of sex workers and have yet to find a victim of coercion or trafficking, SAY SO.
   
• If you work in health services and come into contact with sex workers who don't fit *that* stereotype, SAY SO.

Here's what you can do.

You can write to Rhoda Grant and tell her what you think of her proposals.

The consultation document asks specifically for answers to 8 questions -- but you can also just write in with your opinion if you prefer. Your letter will be much more powerful if you can add your own views and experiences, although at Scot-PEP we have prepared some template letters here which you can use as a guideline for your own letter. In fact you can simply print the letters off and sign them.

You don't need to use your real name, for example you can use your work name or an alias to send in your opinion. If you do use your own name you must ask for your response to be treated as anonymous if you do not wish your name to be published on Rhoda Grant's website and by the Scottish Parliament. (Only names will be published -- not contact addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses etc.)

You can email your letter to: Rhoda.Grant.msp@scottish.parliament.uk

or post it to:

Rhoda Grant MSP Room M1.06 Scottish Parliament Edinburgh EH99 1SP

It has never been more important to stand up for your rights and to have your voice heard. Please don't let this new proposal drive our already clandestine and stigmatised jobs further underground and please don't allow politicians to tell you how you feel or how you ought to live your life. Enough is enough.

Plans to criminalise the purchase of sexual services in Scotland have been welcomed by the miserable christian political group CARE (Christian Action Research and Education)

The political campaigners claimed that commercial prostitution was fuelling the demand for people to be trafficked and exploited.

Gordon Macdonald, CARE for Scotland Parliamentary Officer, said:

We welcome Rhoda Grant's approach to reducing the demand for prostitution and subsequently people trafficking for sexual exploitation. Prostitution is inherently harmful and dehumanising. We encourage supporters to respond to the consultation.

Genevieve Galvin, CARE's Human Trafficking and Exploitation Officer, said:

Sweden has shown that criminalising the purchase of sex works as an effective strategy to protect the vulnerable from sexual exploitation, minimise violence against women and foster a more positive sense of equality and dignity throughout society.

A new bill to make prostitution illegal in Scotland is to be put before the Scottish parliament this week.

Labour MSP Rhoda Grant wants to see a bill fast-tracked through Holyrood, claiming it will reduce demand for prostitution by criminalising those who buy sex. She said the proposals could be passed rapidly through the parliamentary process as the previous consultation meant there was no need to repeat this:

Practical, operational, legal, equality and financial considerations have been explored to a sufficient degree to test, develop and refine my specific proposal and enable me to proceed towards the development of a bill. I have continued to liaise with organisations on this topic.

Views expressed to me so far, as part of my on-going engagement with a number of bodies, the public and others with an interest in this proposal, confirm that the views expressed during the formal consultation process have not changed.

Currently kerb crawling, running brothels and soliciting for prostitution are all outlawed in Scotland but it is still legal for an adult to pay another adult for sex without any offence being committed.

The SNP Government says it will give careful consideration to the new proposals after similar plans were rejected two years ago. Former Labour MSP Trish Godman's proposals in the Criminal Justice and Licensing bill were turned down by ministers who feared it would make the problem less visible to the authorities.

Grant, a Highland and Islands list MSP, is essentially taking over the Godman proposals, and will tell Holyrood's justice committee this week that she thinks there is no need to go through the lengthy consultation process that usually accompanies new bills again.

The original bill  met with concerns from the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS), which warned that it could drive prostitution off the street and into areas where it is harder to identify vulnerable women and enforce the law. Assistant Chief Constable Iain Livingstone told MSPs on the justice committee he was not looking for additional powers in this area.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: Prostitution damages the individuals caught up in selling sex and the communities involved. It is a complex issue which requires careful consideration to ensure that any additional measures which may be required to be put in place are necessary, practicable and sustainable. We will give careful consideration to any bill which Rhoda Grant brings forward on this matter.

Update: Fast track derailed

20th June  2012.  From  scotsman.com

Rhoda Grant is to press ahead with her selfish plans to criminalise prostitution in Scotland but her attempt to fast-track new legislation through parliament was blocked..

Holyrood's justice committee ruled that a 12-week consultation on the measures, which would make it an offence for someone to purchase sex from another adult, must be carried out by Highlands and Islands MSP Rhoda Grant who said:

I look forward to hearing the responses to the further consultation on these proposals.

Overwhelmingly, the feedback that I have received to date makes clear that reducing the demand for prostitution can be achieved by making the purchasing of sex illegal.

I look forward to the parliament considering more consultation feedback in the coming months and a full debate on my proposals that will protect Scottish women.

Offsite Comment: Making Things Worse

20th June  2012. See  article from  bbc.co.uk

Dr Belinda Brooks-Gordon, from the Department of Psychological Sciences, Birbeck, University of London, has researched and written about the sex industry. She said the Scottish legislation proposal was not supported by any evidence that it would help sex workers.

It's McCarthyism in the bedroom

The prisons are at bursting point so to fill them with people who use prostitutes and to give them a criminal record is lunacy.

It would be a retrograde step and would make things worse.

The people this legislation would most harm are the people they are proposing to help.

She said the best way to protect sex workers was to treat violence against them as a hate crime and build a strong relationship between the police and prostitutes so they felt that if they approached them for help their complaint would be taken seriously

...Read the full article

A mean minded bid to introduce sweeping new laws criminalising all aspects of prostitution has been defeated in the Scottish Parliament. 

Labour MSP Trish Godman's amendment would have made it an offence to engage in, advertise or facilitate paid-for sexual activity, whether it was on the streets or indoors.

The plan won the support of the committee's three Labour members, but was voted down by its five MSPs from other parties. 

Godman ranted: As I speak, men are buying sex from prostitutes, men are raping women who are trafficked, they have no fear, they will never get caught because it is not an offence. We need to send a strong message that buying sex is not harmless or acceptable, that it should be regarded in Scotland as an abuse and an exploitation which will not tolerated. I would argue that we owe it to all women who are victimised by prostitution to do what we can now.

At present, kerb crawling is illegal in Scotland but prostitution is not, and prostitutes are arrested only if they are suspected of causing a breach of the peace.

The Association of Chief Police Officers Scotland, prostitutes' support agency Scotpep and Independent MSP Margo MacDonald had all warned that the amendment could drive prostitution out of the relative safety of flats and saunas and on to back streets, putting women at greater risk.

Community safety minister Fergus Ewing, who attended the justice committee meeting, said: The government is concerned about making substantial changes to the law in this difficult, complex and sensitive area without proper consideration and consultation, with all the issues involved. Rushing through a major change to the law of prostitution through amendments, without any proper consultation and with very limited time for consideration, is a bad idea.

The amendment was also criticised for being added to the already wide-ranging Criminal Justice and Licensing Bill, and without having had specific consultation on the ramifications of a change in legislation on prostitution.

Ruth Morgan Thomas, of Scotpep, said the amendment would have sought to criminalise an estimated 5,000 women working in the sex industry in Scotland. She also said that a law against facilitating the purchase of sex would potentially lead to receptionists, hotel porters and even taxi drivers being charged and convicted.