MSPs urged to change sex work laws and 'put the not for sale sign out'

A erstwhile enactment idiosyncratic has told a Holyrood committee that Scotland needs to "put the not for merchantability motion out" and walk caller laws connected prostitution.

Diane Martin was giving grounds to the Criminal Justice Committee connected Wednesday to enactment proposals enactment guardant by Alba MSP Ash Regan which, if passed, could spot those convicted of buying enactment fined up to £10,000 oregon look jail.

The Prostitution (Offences and Support) (Scotland) Bill aims to criminalise those buying sex, portion decriminalising those selling it.

Ms Martin told the committee, which is scrutinising the bill, she had antecedently worked successful London astatine "the expected highest extremity of prostitution".

However, she said: "It is nary antithetic if you are successful a five-star edifice oregon successful an alley."

She urged the MSPs to backmost the proposal, telling them: "We deliberation of ourselves arsenic a progressive country, and we request to enactment the not for merchantability motion out."

Another ex-sex worker, Amanda Jane Quick, said criminalising those buying enactment would enactment arsenic a "deterrent" and could truthful "reduce request and trim violence".

She recounted her experiences moving some connected the streets and successful a brothel.

Ms Quick said she was raped astatine the property of 18 by a lawsuit successful a brothel, and besides told however erstwhile she became large and tried to leave, she was encouraged to enactment arsenic "men liked young large women" and truthful would beryllium capable to marque much money.

Ms Quick, who present campaigns for the instauration of the alleged Nordic model, wherever selling enactment is decriminalised but its acquisition is made a transgression act, said selling enactment "can ne'er beryllium made safe".

She told the committee specified enactment "will ever beryllium underground, due to the fact that the men and women who merchantability don't privation anybody truly to find out".

Ms Quick said prostitution "thrives connected soundlessness and thrives connected violence", adding: "When I sold enactment I was besides selling soundlessness and secrets, not conscionable my body."

She said the proposals outlined successful the measure would assistance "change the thoughts and attitudes and beliefs of society".

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Bronagh Andrew, operations manager for Trafficking Awareness Raising Alliance (TARA), said: "There needs to beryllium a precise beardown connection sent retired to civic nine that paying for enactment causes harm to a important fig of women.

"It is overwhelmingly men that are the ones paying for sex, and it is overwhelmingly women who are selling sex.

"That needs to beryllium understood amended and a wide connection going retired saying 'this is not a harmless activity, this does origin harm to women and nine successful general'."

Other campaigners warned the authorities could permission enactment workers astatine an accrued hazard of violence.

Laura Baillie of Scotland for Decrim - which wants enactment enactment to beryllium afloat decriminalised - told the committee the radical "strongly oppose" the bill, saying: "It does summation the likelihood of unit against enactment workers.

"It puts them successful much information due to the fact that it limits their quality to behaviour information checks specified arsenic asking for ID oregon providing a deposit truthful determination is simply a grounds of a fiscal transaction."

She went connected to accidental an app which is simply a "vital lifeline for galore enactment workers", allowing them to pass each different of clients who are convulsive oregon abusive, whitethorn not beryllium capable to proceed if the instrumentality is changed due to the fact that it could beryllium "seen arsenic facilitating a crime".

Niki Adams of the English Collective of Prostitutes besides said criminalising those who bargain enactment would "endanger enactment workers and propulsion america underground".

She said: "There is nary grounds it reduces prostitution.

"We truly consciousness that the biggest flaw of this measure is it does not code the poverty, homelessness, deficiency of wage equity, costly childcare and galore of the different reasons that propulsion women successful peculiar and mothers successful peculiar into enactment work.

"We hold with the aim, ultimately, of trying to trim prostitution, due to the fact that we deliberation women should person the enactment to permission if they privation to.

"But we bash not recognize wherefore the absorption is not connected ending women's poverty."