04-07-2025
Should it be illegal to pay for sex in Scotland?
At the moment it is more likely that people who sell sex will be prosecuted than their clients.
An attempt is being made at the
Scottish Parliament
to reverse this and shift the focus onto buyers.
There is no ban on the sale and purchase of sex. But soliciting in public and running a brothel are against the law.
Buyers face sanctions for kerb crawling.
An approach known as 'the Nordic Model'. It was pioneered in Sweden. Other countries, including Norway, Canada and Northern Ireland, have adopted variations of it.
It shifts the focus of criminalisation from those selling sex to those buying it.
Services and support are offered to those who wish to exit the sex trade.
Some women who sell sex say criminalising clients will put them more at risk of violence by driving the industry underground.
Channel 4 News has spoken to women who are fighting for full decriminalisation instead.
Laura Baillie from Scotland for Decrim told us the bill does not address why people go into the industry.
'The underlying reasons of people entering sex work are not being discussed by this bill. Things like poverty, homelessness, the cost of living crisis.'
Others welcome the proposals. Fiona Broadfoot was trafficked as a teenager and now helps other women leave the industry.
'Come out of the dark shadows, men, admit what you are doing,' she says.
'It is violence against women and girls, it is not a job like any other. It is not sex and it is not work.'
Alba MSP Ash Regan was able to introduce this bill to the Scottish Parliament after securing initial support from 24 MSPs across different parties. No Lib Dem or Scottish Green MSP backed the proposal.
'I'm not trying to put loads of people in prison. What I am trying to do is change the culture so it acts as a deterrent and men no longer feel it is acceptable to go buy sex.'
Currently, the bill is only at stage one, which means it is being looked at by the Criminal Justice Committee at the Scottish Parliament. Ash Regan believes there is time for it to be voted on before May 2026, when the next Scottish Parliament election is due.
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