Ash Regan has introduced a bill to criminalise buying sex in Scotland, prompting backlash from sex workers who say it will make their work more dangerous.
Ash Regan, MSP of the Alba Party in Scotland, has lodged a bill to criminalise the buying of sex in Scotland, with plans to get it passed before the end of the Scottish parliamentary session and before the election in 2026.
She also spoke to sex worker Fiona Broadfoot, who said current MSP’s had paid her for sex, calling for an investigation among the Scottish Parliament.
Anas Sarwar, Scottish Labour leader, who hasn’t confirmed whether he will be backing the bill, said he found it ‘horrifying’.
The Prostitution Offences and Support Scotland Bill would decriminalise women who are selling sexual services; instead, criminalising the buying of sex and those who are “clients”.
In her speech in Holyrood, Regan stated, “Prostitution is not a job like any other, as some lobby groups claim; it is a system of commercial sexual exploitation that targets the vulnerable, is driven by demand and is enabled by silence”.
However, many sex workers in Scotland have fought back, saying the new law would be unfair. Speaking to Alice*, the BBC reported that the criminalisation of buying sexual services would mean it would create a worse clientele for sex workers. Alice stated: “You’ll just be left with people who don’t care about you, as they don’t care about breaking the law”.
Regan said the Bill would follow the Nordic model, and would mark a change in the Scottish perspective on prostitution.
Speaking in Parliament, she highlighted “We would depart from a failed approach of decriminalising the sex trade, without addressing the root cause and consequences of commodifying human beings: demand”.
This model has been adopted by countries such as France, Norway and Sweden, designed to prevent women from being forced into sex work through socio-economic, psychological or physical factors. There has been a success with this model in Sweden, and in the last 25 years, no sex workers have been killed working in prostitution. Regan believes this is an example of the effectiveness of the model, compared to the decriminalisation of sex work.
Sex workers have concerns that criminalising it makes it harder to screen potential clients, putting them more in harm’s way. Alice again said: “My body would become a crime scene, wouldn’t it? So why would I go to the police? I wouldn’t even go to the police now.”
The bill has gained some support from other sex workers, who have the belief that all sex work is exploitative and rape, and that no women can fully consent in situations where there is a financial gain. This follows what many feminists believe, and is in line with the Nordic model vision.
Fiona Broadfoot, who was forced into prostitution at only 15, spoke about her experience at Holyrood within the industry and responded to the claims that it would cause ‘good clients’ to disappear.
Broadfoot said she didn’t understand this and insisted that prostitution is the most dangerous life you could lead.
“These are ordinary men that live amongst us, and prostitution is the most dangerous life to live. Laws don’t make that more dangerous. Men make that dangerous. Men’s entitlement to do what they want to another human being for sexual gratification”.
The Decrim campaign, which describes itself as ‘sex worker-led’ in Scotland, has been set up to oppose the bid for a change in law. The campaign has stated that they oppose the bill as criminalising clients doesn’t solve the core issues that force people into sex work. Instead, they propose full decriminalisation.
Since Ash Regan shared plans to introduce the bill back in August 2024, she has faced backlash from sex workers in Scotland.
There has also been strong opposition from other MSP’s who don’t believe criminalising is the answer. However, the former justice secretary Kenny Mackaskill has made a call to MSP’s to back the bill.
*Alice is a fake name used to protect the anonymity of the interviewee.
