Time has come in Scotland to make it illegal for men to pay women to have sex

We are a nation that increasingly talks about formerly “shameful” topics, but prostitution remains one of those areas of society we avoid discussing. The Scottish public either shrug their shoulders with indifference to it or demonstrably espouse their dogmatic views in very small clusters. All the while the practice of prostitution continues to take place in the shadows, and, as you might imagine, its business is increasingly initiated on smart devices at work or at home. But the end of 2020 affords Scotland an opportunity to wake up to the issue.

Stuart Weir, national director of CARE for Scotland.

There was a gradual build of support over three years within the SNP towards a change of mind about the nature of commercial sexual exploitation (Prostitution is a form of commercial sexual exploitation). The Government’s Equally Safe strategy clearly states that women in prostitution are the recipients of gendered violence. In March 2017, at the SNP party conference, a momentous point was reached as party delegates backed a motion condemning the sale of sex as 'a form of violence against women'. But still there was no sign of legislation to match such commitments.

Now though, the Scottish Government is beginning to move. It’s launched a public consultation which offers four different, possible approaches to addressing male demand for paid sex. One of them is close to the policy solution we at CARE support, namely, making it illegal to buy sex.

As the consultation clearly relates, the Government is poking a bear that is usually left in peace. That ‘bear’ is men who pay for sex. The challenge to upturn the cart of male power over women by virtue of a cash exchange, but which renders the women broken and in an eternal state of need, provokes all kinds of dark characters. To try to wrap up this hidden social issue as a sterile example of individual choice, which is the ‘go to’ answer for all matters among the liberal left, will not do. It is unconvincing because the Scottish Government have taken the time to evidence gather during this hiatus of three years in order to come to a comprehensive understanding of those who are at the mercy of men who pay.

Women involved in prostitution invariably are those who are controlled, albeit this might not be the perspective or the experience of everyone. Their lives have been shattered at the hands of numerous men daily. They need first class support in terms of health care, the ability to exit prostitution safely away from their pimps, and time with expert help to rehabilitate their lives towards fullness. They need a clean slate so that their relationship with state authorities is one which reflects the journey towards flourishing.

I believe the time has come in Scotland to make buying sex illegal because it will deal with the main driver of prostitution– men who pay for sex. We need a Scotland that sends a clear message to all men that is it is unacceptable to believe that women can be bought and/or sold. We need a country that in its deep, male sub-conscious finds the notion of purchasing women utterly repugnant. But we also need a Scotland that begins the needful journey of restoring women who have been trapped and brutalised by a never-ending queue of punters.

As if it were a trigger to get us active, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women approaches. And one of the UN’s designated forms of violence against women is prostitution. The deadline for this consultation the 10th December. Let’s get our voices heard on behalf of our women. Here’s hoping the consultation will lead to legislation that makes the purchase of sex illegal and offers women clear exit pathways to leave prostitution behind.

Stuart Weir, National Director of CARE for Scotland, www.care.org.uk