Majority back crackdown on buying sex to tackle pimping and trafficking

An overwhelming majority of Scots support a crackdown on buying sex as a way of tackling pimping, organised crime and sex trafficking, a poll has suggested.

A survey by Find Out Now found that when asked, 68% of people said they backed “stronger laws against buying sex as a way of tackling pimping, organised crime and sex trafficking”.

Only 7% took the opposite view, while a quarter said they neither nor opposed it.

The poll was commissioned by Alba MSP Ash Regan, whose members’ Bill would criminalise those buying sex while decriminalising those selling it.

Under her Prostitution (Offences and Support) (Scotland) Bill, those convicted of buying sex could be fined up to £10,000 if the case was prosecuted in the sheriff courts, with these courts also able to impose jail sentences of up to six months.

The legislation also sets out that help and support should be given to those seeking to leave prostitution.

In the survey, Scots were also asked what impact they thought the demand to buy sex has on the safety of women.

More than half (57%) of respondents said it made women less safe, while just 5% said it made them more safe. 15% said it made no difference, while 23% said they did not know.

Regan said: “It is welcome that the public agree that stronger laws are needed to tackle pimps, address human trafficking and organised crime.

“These are the people that sex buyers fund at the expense of inflicting violence on women.”

The Edinburgh Eastern MSP said prostitution was a form of violence against women – a view she says is backed by the Scottish Government.

She added: “The proposals in my Unbuyable Bill are already the policy of the governing party and polling continues to show us that a clear majority backs my Unbuyable Bill, which shifts the shame and criminality from those exploited in prostitution onto the sex buyers who exploit them.

“Therefore, it is welcome that the public agree that stronger laws are needed to tackle pimps, address human trafficking and organised crime.

“These are the people that sex buyers fund at the expense of inflicting violence on women.

“Commercial sexual exploitation of vulnerable, mainly women and girls, should never be about party politics.

“Polling shows support from voters of every main political party, sending a powerful message: Scots across the political spectrum want an end to the buying of women’s bodies and they expect Parliament to act.

“It is tragic that so many women in Scotland feel more unsafe in society as a result of prostitution, that should act as a rallying call to he leaders of all Scotland’s parties to listen to the public and prioritise the safety, dignity and rights of women and girls by backing my Unbuyable Bill into law.”

Scotland’s community safety minister previously signalled her opposition to the Bill, saying in the summer that she had “significant and deep concerns” about it.

Siobhian Brown insisted that proposals by Regan to quash the convictions of those involved in prostitution were an “exceptional” measure and “not a step that can be taken lightly”.

She said there was “insufficient detail” on how proposals to provide support to those involved in prostitution to help them change their lifestyle “would work in practice”, including how long such measures would be available for and what the costs would be.

Brown stressed that while the Scottish Government backed the “underlying intent of the Bill to challenge men’s demand and to tackle commercial sexual exploitation”, she added there were still “significant questions and concerns regarding the measures within the Bill and how they would work in practice, the extent to which they would deliver on the policy intent, and the associated financial implications”.