SNP’S sex work plans ‘risk rise in child prostitution’

SNP plans to outlaw paying for sex risks increasing child prostitution, a report by government officials has warned.

An analysis of countries that use the “Nordic model”, which criminalises the use of prostitutes, found “complexities” and doubts over its effectiveness.

In France, a policy adopted in 2016 has been linked with a rise in adolescent girls advertising online.

While supporters of the model claim it reduces demand for prostitution and helps vulnerable women escape harm and persecution, opponents say criminalisation can increase danger for sex workers by driving it underground.

Scottish civil servants found that in France, where buying sex carries fines up to £2,500 and an “awareness course”, there had been “a rise in the prostitution of minors”.

A factor had been increased use of the internet in buying and selling sex, rather than established methods such as street prostitution and brothels.

The French government found as many as 10,000 young people, mainly girls aged 15 to 17, selling sex online. It cited an article which claimed the issue had been harder to tackle as prostitution had become “less visible”, with girls meeting men in private homes, short-term rentals and hotels.

Pimps were earning up to £1,300 daily from girls, some of whom did not see themselves as “victims”, but saw it as a “way of making lots of easy money”.

However, the SNP vowed to implement a system aimed at “effectively challenging” demand for prostitution.

“We want all women and girls to be treated with respect, and tackling sexual exploitation is key,” said Ash Denham, SNP community safety minister.

Currently, paying for or selling sex is legal in Scotland although soliciting in public and kerb crawling is not. Under the Nordic model, those who pay for sex face two years in jail.

In Sweden, some men had been put off using prostitutes by the penalties, but for others they had “added to the thrill of buying sex”, the report said.

Nordic Model Now, a campaign group, pointed to other factors blamed for the rise in child prostitution in France, such as increased use of the internet, online porn, and a lack of accommodation and education.