Regan: Law criminalising men buying sex will not increase risk for prostitutes

The MSP bidding to change the law so that those buying sex from prostitutes could be jailed has dismissed concerns her proposals could result in increased risks for sex workers.

While independent MSP Ash Regan has put forward legislation that would criminalise the purchase of sex, some groups working with prostitutes have raised concerns the move could leave them at increased risk of violence.

Holyrood’s Criminal Justice Committee has heard concerns from some the change will “endanger sex workers and push us underground”.

But Ms Regan dismissed that, saying: “The facts and the evidence say that that is not true.”

She described her Prostitution (Offences and Support) (Scotland) Bill as making a “very small change in the law” which she said would have an “extremely large impact”.

The Bill sets out to criminalise those buying sex – with fines of up to £10,000 or prison sentences proposed for those convicted – while, at the same time, decriminalising those selling it.

Ms Regan, who previously served as community safety minister in the Scottish Government, also made clear, since her proposals take on “organised crime, pimps and traffickers”, it would be “more appropriate” for legislation to be brought forward by ministers.

She told the committee: “When I was in government this Bill, this very Bill, was on the slate to be a government Bill.

“And my actual view on this is this should be a government Bill.

“I think because of the nature of the fact I am attempting to legislate against organised crime, pimps and traffickers, I think it might be more appropriate for this to be taken forward by the government rather than by an individual member.”

Adding that she had been “working on this issue for a very long time”, the independent MSP added: “I  just can’t get the stories of what has happened to some of these women out of my mind, and I don’t think as a society we should be looking away from this any longer.”

She said: “This Parliament has been going for 25 years, this is exactly the type of legislation this Parliament should be looking at and implementing because, actually, it is a very small change in the law but it will have an extremely large impact.”

Ms Regan insisted that if MSPs are “serious about combatting violence against women” they need to tackle the issue of prostitution – describing the practice as “exploitation”.

And she called for Scotland to learn from Sweden, which criminalised the purchase of sex in 1999 and now has “the lowest number of women involved in prostitution and the lowest numbers of men buying sex in Europe”.

In Sweden, between 6.6 and 15 people per 100,000 are involved in prostitution, Ms Regan said, adding that in Scotland between 108 and 144 people per 100,000 are involved.

The MSP added: “When I saw those figures I was shocked. I think there is definitely a problem here that we need to address in Scotland.”

She later told MSPs that “the type of men that are buying sex are also quite often involved in other similar crimes, these men are involved in crimes like domestic abuse, they are often involved in other sexual crimes like rape and sexual assault”.

And she stated: “It is appropriate we consider criminalising this behaviour because it sends a very strong message that in Scotland we don’t want to tolerate this behaviour.”

She said there was “resistance to the idea of criminalising the buyer” because “Scotland is a very profitable destination for pimps and traffickers”.

However, Ms Regan insisted that “criminalising sex buying is the right decision”, telling MSPs that doing nothing “allows exploitation to continue unhindered”.

Community safety minister Siobhian Brown last week told MSPs the Scottish Government “strongly support the principle of legislating to criminalise purchasers of sex” but added that ministers have “significant concerns” about Ms Regan’s proposals.