Tale of two cities' approach to vice

Published on Tuesday 8 December 2009 21:44

THE zero tolerance approach to prostitution outlined by Glasgow City Council yesterday is not one shared by other local authorities in Scotland, where traditionally, the emphasis has been on harm-reduction.

A study published last year by the Scottish Women's Group with men who had paid for sex found that while only 74 per cent of men in Scotland's biggest city had paid for sex indoors, the figure in the capital was 93 per cent.

For nearly two decades, Edinburgh adopted a tolerance policy with a view to containing prostitution to Coburg Street in Leith.

Established in the early 1980s, the zone was technically illegal, but police practically turned a blind eye to sex workers' activities, and support organisations were on hand to help women.

Since the demise of the zone in 2001, coupled with the advent of the Prostitution (Public Places) Scotland Act 2007, increasing numbers of sex workers have moved away from the streets, many working from their own homes.

However, Gordon Munro, Labour councillor for the Leith ward, said incidences of kerb crawling are becoming more prevalent.

"The main problem we have in Leith is that the procurator-fiscal's office do not feel evidence is robust enough. So, it is actually the fiscal's office which is posing a challenge to Scottish Government legislation.

Rob Kirkwood of the Leith Links Residents Association agreed: "The kerb-crawling legislation in itself didn't change the situation very much as the police don't seem fully aware of the implications.

"The legislation has helped and there is less of it. But it is only effective if applied by the police and it is not high on their list."

According to Scottish Government statistics, prostitution offences have increased by 5 per cent over the past year, with 533 offences in 2008-9. In the Strathclyde Police area, there were 222 prostitution-related crimes in 2008-9.

It is estimated there are 1,400 sex workers in Glasgow and around 800 to 1,000 in Edinburgh.