Prostitution: How will MSPs vote on crunch Holyrood bill?
There are strongly opposing views - but does Ash Regan have enough backers to see her bill pass?
This week MSPs will be asked to vote on Ash Regan MSP’s Unbuyable bill.
Her bill aims to overhaul prostitution law in Scotland by bringing in what is known as the Nordic model - essentially criminalising the men who buy sex and decriminalising the women selling sex.
It is still uncertain whether or not the independent MSP will get enough people backing her for the bill to pass at stage one.
Holyrood’s justice committee was split on whether to support her proposals. First Minister John Swinney says he is still undecided. The SNP’s community safety minister said she still has “significant concerns” with the bill as it stands.
Ms Regan told me the Scottish Parliament has spent 20 years “looking away from prostitution” and that this bill would “close a critical gap in the law by ensuring that criminality and shame finally change sides”.
She said: “Every delay, every failure to act, ignores what our justice bodies are telling us and further silences survivors who have been ignored for decades to protect sex buyers and the lucrative operating model of the sex trade.”
Ms Regan said many prostitution survivors will be in the debating chamber on Tuesday to watch, and for MSPs to vote against the bill in front of them is “telling them that their exploitation was acceptable and that women’s human rights in Scotland are optional”.
Not everyone is in agreement with her, however.
The group Scotland for Decrim rejects the idea of the Nordic model in favour of full decriminalisation.
They say the bill is “dangerous” and “will increase violence against women”, claiming that every country that has implemented the Nordic model has seen a “drastic” increase in violence against women.
A spokeswoman told me: “Scottish sex workers are clear that this bill will put us in more danger. It will make it much more difficult for us to get personal information from clients which is vital for our safety.
“It also does not decriminalise workers who are working together indoors for their safety - we would continue to be forced to work alone, at much higher risk of violence, or risk criminalisation for working together.
“Rather than being seen to be doing ‘something’ about tackling men’s violence against women in the run-up to an election, we call on MSPs to be driven by the evidence which shows that this type of legislation does not reduce demand, nor does it have any reliable evidence proving it will tackle abuse and exploitation.”
They added: “We speak directly to MSPs when we say - do not condemn us to violence, and please vote against this dangerous and poorly written bill.”
Members of Scotland for Decrim will also be in the debating chamber on Tuesday to watch the vote.
Ms Regan does have individual cross-party allies who are ready to back her on this, including from the Conservatives, Labour and her former party the SNP.
There are others who have said from an early day they will be voting against her bill, like the Scottish Greens.
However, with an election coming up, there may be those within the chamber who do not want to get involved in such a controversial subject right now. You may find some who do not want the bill to progress simply because they want to avoid having the conversation.
That is something MSPs can consider over the next 48 hours - is it better to have the debate, or hope it quietly goes away?
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