Warning Holyrood plans may put prostitutes in ‘more danger’
The Scottish Government has been warned that its plans to overhaul prostitution legislation will make prostitution “more dangerous”.
Audrey Jones, who works as a prostitute in scotland and is part of the campaign group Decrim Now, said prostitution should be completely decriminalised.
However, the scottish governmentis against this, instead having committed to implementing what is known as the“Nordicmodel ”, which makes selling sex legal, but buying sex illegal.
Ms Jones, who is also part of the Sex Workers’ Union, said of their Scottish members: “None are in favour of the Nordic model”.
They say the Government’s policy could lead to a rise in violence against prostitutes and give police officers more power over those who try to report crimes as their clients would still be criminalised.
Ms jones said the government should back complete decriminalisation–something the scottish Greens support.
Speaking to The Scotsman, she said :“full decriminalisation would mean sex work is brought under employment law, so sex workers would have rights and be able to organise against bad bosses and change their working conditions.”
The Nordic model would shift the burden of criminality from women selling sex onto the men buying sex, and make “pimping” websites illegal in scotland. this move is championed by a group called A Model for Scotland, who say the Government also needs to reduce men’s demand to pay for sex.
The group says Scotland has the chance to be on the “right side of history” by implementing the Nordic model, and said there could not be true gender equality unless women were no longer able to be bought and sold.
However, Ms Jones, who turned to sex work after being let go from her job for mental health reasons, said this model could force women to work alone to avoid being brothel-keeping rules.
She is also worried some could be made homeless if their landlords were thought to be profiting off of prostitution.
The SNP pledged in its 2021 manifesto to bring in the Nordic model in scotland, but so far this has not happened.
However, Ms Jones said she believed this was about politicians trying to get an “easy win”, saying if the government“cares about the safety of sex workers ”, they would think again about this policy.
Survivors of prostitution have previously told The Scotsman they experience high levels of violence and felt they were exploited or trafficked into prostitution. However, fully decriminalising prostitution is something that is supported by the UN working group on the issue.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “The primary aim of our strategic approach, which was published in February,is to enable women to safely, and sustainably, exit from prostitution. This will include piloting a new support pathway from summer 2024, to make it easier for women to access the assistance they need.”