MSPs urged to change prostitution laws and ‘put the not for sale sign out’

A former sex worker has said Scotland needs to “put the not for sale sign out” and pass new laws on prostitution.

Diane Martin gave evidence to Holyrood’s Criminal Justice Committee on Wednesday to support proposals put forward by Alba MSP Ash Regan which, if passed, could see those convicted of buying sex fined up to £10,000 or face jail.

Ms Regan’s Prostitution (Offences and Support) (Scotland) Bill aims to criminalise those buying sex, while decriminalising those selling it.

Ms Martin told the committee, which is scrutinising the Bill, she had previously worked in London at “the supposed highest end of prostitution”.

But she said: “It is no different if you are in a five-star hotel or in an alley.”

She urged the MSPs to back the proposed Bill, telling them: “We think of ourselves as a progressive country, and we need to put the not for sale sign out.”

Another former sex worker, Amanda Jane Quick, told the committee that criminalising those buying sex would act as a “deterrent” and could therefore “reduce demand and reduce violence”.

She recounted her experiences working as a prostitute, both on the streets and in a brothel.

She was raped at the age of 18 by a client in a brothel, she said, and she also told how when she became pregnant and tried to leave, she was encouraged to stay, being told “men liked young pregnant women” and therefore she would be able to make more money.

Ms Quick, who now campaigns for the introduction of the so-called Nordic model, where selling sex is decriminalised but its purchase is made a criminal act, said selling sex “can never be made safe”.

She told the committee such work “will always be underground, because the men and women who sell don’t want anybody really to find out”.

Adding that prostitution “thrives on silence and thrives on violence”, she said: “When I sold sex I was also selling silence and secrets, not just my body.”

She said the proposals outlined in Ms Regan’s Bill would help “change the thoughts and attitudes and beliefs of society”.

While she said this change in attitudes “might take a while”, she insisted: “It is not a birth right to buy sex. It might be a need and urge, but it is not a right.”

That was echoed by Bronagh Andrew, the operations manager for Tara (Trafficking Awareness Raising Alliance) and Routes Out Services, which offer help and support to women.

Ms Andrew said: “There needs to be a very strong message sent out to civic society that paying for sex causes harm to a significant number of women.

“It is overwhelmingly men that are the ones paying for sex, and it is overwhelmingly women who are selling sex. That needs to be understood better and a clear message going out saying ‘this is not a harmless activity, this does cause harm to women and society in general’.”

Other campaigners warned the legislation could leave sex workers at an increased risk of violence.

Laura Baillie of Scotland for Decrim – which wants sex work to be fully decriminalised – told the committee: “Any form of criminalisation, whether it is the buyer or the seller, increases the likelihood of sex workers’ experiences three times over.”

Adding the group “strongly oppose” the move to criminalise those buying sex, Ms Baillie said: “It does increase the likelihood of violence against sex workers.

“It puts them in more danger because it limits their ability to conduct safety checks such as asking for ID or providing a deposit so there is a record of a financial transaction.”

She went on to say an app which is a “vital lifeline for many sex workers”, allowing them to warn each other of clients who are violent or abusive, may not be able to continue if the law was changed because it could be “seen as facilitating a crime”.

Niki Adams of the English Collective of Prostitutes also said criminalising those how buy sex would “endanger sex workers and push us underground”.

She insisted: “There is no evidence it reduces prostitution.

“We really feel that the biggest flaw of this Bill is it does not address the poverty, homelessness, lack of pay equity, expensive childcare and many of the other reasons that push women in particular and mothers into particular into sex work.

“We agree with the aim, ultimately, of trying to reduce prostitution, because we think women should have the option to leave if they want to.

“But we do not understand why the focus is not on ending women’s poverty.”