edinburgh – Jean Urquhart

Jean urges decriminalisation for sex workers’ safety

February 11, 2014February 11, 2014Jean Urquhart MSP4 Comments

Jean has criticised Edinburgh’s decision to delicense its saunas and massage parlours, and called for a debate on decriminalising sex work in order to improve safety and decrease stigma.

Her intervention has been praised by the sex-worker-led charity SCOT-PEP as “courageous”.

In a motion to the Scottish Parliament, Jean praised Edinburgh’s formerly strong record of harm reduction policies on sex work, and urged the capital to reconsider.

Edinburgh has been unusual in granting Public Entertainment Licenses to sex work premises, a policy which improved health and safety and was strongly supported by sex workers themselves. Until 2001, Edinburgh also recognised tolerance zones for street prostitution.

Jean highlighted calls from sex workers’ organisations for full decriminalisation, as practiced in New Zealand since 2003. Kiwi sex workers now report much greater safety and wellbeing. Decriminalisation is supported by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).

Jean said:

“Our first duty in dealing with sex work must be the protection of the safety and dignity of sex workers. Sex work can be dangerous; but those dangers are exacerbated, or in many cases even created, by criminalisation.

“In Edinburgh’s case, delicensing will eventually lead to saunas being forced out of business by raids and arrests – which is presumably its intention. This will force sex workers into more dangerous work such as street prostitution or working alone from home.

“This is a continuation of a concerted shift against harm reduction in Edinburgh. One of the changes already made, in 2001, has been to abandon the use of tolerance zones for street prostitution. A subsequent crackdown on kerb-crawling in 2007 led to sex workers reporting a 95% increase in incidents of violence over 12 months.

“Edinburgh’s management of sex work was a success story. But instead of the rest of Scotland learning from their experience, we are seeing failed policies being pushed on the capital.

“Both the hard evidence and the testimony of sex workers themselves tell us that fully decriminalising sex work, as in New Zealand, is the best way to protect sex workers and their communities. This would allow co-operation instead of conflict with the authorities, improve the health and safety of sex workers, and create the best possible environment for the eradication of coercion, trafficking and underage sex work.”

The sex workers’ charity SCOT-PEP said:

“SCOT-PEP warmly welcomes Jean Urquhart’s motion on Edinburgh city council’s sauna decision, and on the wider legal context of sex work in Scotland. It is heartening to see an MSP focus on harm reduction rather than on ideology, and back a policy – decriminalisation – that is supported by evidence, and international agencies including UNAIDS and the World Health Organization.

“We are delighted that Jean’s motion notes that decriminalisation is the legal framework called for by sex workers in Scotland, and around the world. For too long, debates about sex work have been dominated by policymakers who seek to dismiss the voices of those most affected. Sex workers are the experts on the legal framework that best enables them to work safely, and to access health, human rights, and justice.

“We have long fought for policy that centres safety, human rights and evidence, and are pleased to see that, in a context for sex workers in Scotland that has recently brought setbacks, we nonetheless have courageous politicians”.

If Jean’s motion gains the support of MSPs from three of the five Holyrood party groups, including Jean’s Independent/Green group, it will be eligible for a debate in the Parliament. If you support a debate on the issue, please consider emailing, writing or phoning your MSP and asking them to sign the motion.

Jean’s motion to the Scottish Parliament:

Motion Number: S4M-08986
Lodged By: Jean Urquhart
Date Lodged: 06/02/2014

Title: Criminalisation of Sex Work

Motion Text:

That the Parliament regrets the decision of the Regulatory Committee of Edinburgh City Council, on 3 February 2014, to remove massage parlours and saunas from the Public Entertainment Licence regime; considers that this decision represents a move toward deeper criminalisation of sex work and sex workers; believes that such criminalisation exposes sex workers to greater danger and stigma; further believes that Edinburgh’s previous sex work policies, including tolerance zones for street prostitution and licensed saunas, demonstrated success in reducing harm, and notes calls for Edinburgh City Council to reconsider this decision and the Scottish Government to give consideration to policies to decriminalise sex work, as it believes has been requested by sex workers themselves.

Motion: 2014 Edinburgh International Festival

August 14, 2013Jean Urquhart MSP2 Comments

I lodged the following motion in Parliament today expressing my regret at the decision taken by the EIF to not commission any productions examining the independence referendum next year. It seems such a shame that the opportunity is being passed up by the EIF to use the event to show the role that the arts can play in the big decisions of our time, regardless of their angle or viewpoint.

That the Parliament notes with regret the reported decision taken by the director of the Edinburgh International Festival, Sir Jonathan Mills, to exclude any independence-themed productions from the 2014 event; believes that, regardless of voting intentions, the cultural sector has a massive role to play in the referendum; considers that political neutrality can be better obtained through an open, fair, and balanced programme that includes the views of all sides rather than through what it sees as enforced silence in what is universally recognised as one of the most important debates in Scotland’s history; believes this to be an act of censorship that will inadvertently politicise the festival and a wasted opportunity for Scotland’s arts community, and, in order to promote an open, healthy and vigorous debate, encourages the organisers of the Edinburgh International Festival to reconsider the decision.

Motion: Gavin Wallace

February 18, 2013Jean Urquhart MSP

Motion S4M-05639: Jean Urquhart, Highlands and Islands, Independent, Date Lodged: 14/02/2013

Gavin Wallace
That the Parliament notes with sadness the passing of Dr Gavin Wallace, portfolio manager for literature, publishing and language at Creative Scotland; understands that Gavin began his career at the literary magazineCencrastus in 1991, becoming the co-editor of the Edinburgh Review in 1994; further understands that Gavin was then hired by the Scottish Arts Council in August 1997, going on to become head of literature for eight years before taking on his role at Creative Scotland; considers that the outpouring of tributes from the arts world demonstrates the respect and affection held for Gavin and his dedication to promoting and encouraging Scottish literature; believes that Scotland has tragically lost a passionate and able advocate of its literary culture, and passes on its condolences to Gavin’s partner, Pauline, and sons, Patrick and Alasdair.

Motion: EHRC Coalition Cuts

August 31, 2012Jean Urquhart MSP

Motion S4M-03954: Jean Urquhart, Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party, Date Lodged: 31/08/2012

EHRC Coalition Cuts
That the Parliament acknowledges what it considers to be the vital role that is played by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) in providing guidance to the public in promoting and enforcing equality legislation; expresses its deep concern over the reported 62% reduction in EHRC’s budget by 2015 and how this could impact on EHRC’s operations in Scotland; believes that the proposals will cause the closure of the EHRC’s Edinburgh office, resulting in a loss of half of its workforce in Scotland; notes that the UK Government plans to close EHRC’s direct expert helpline and replace it with a referral-only service, with no presence in Scotland or Wales; considers that, the decimation of the EHRC’s budget and the concurrent impact on its ability to provide an effective service, runs contrary to the Equality Act 2006; condemns what it understands is the UK Government’s decision to continue with these regressive reforms, despite it consultation showing that people were against this by a margin of 15:1, and considers that this is a typical example of what it sees as the fiscal vandalism of the UK Government and how it is harming Scotland and society’s most vulnerable and marginalised groups.

Motion: Discovery of the Higgs Boson (July 9th)

July 9, 2012August 21, 2012Jean Urquhart MSP

Short Title: Discovery of the Higgs Boson

S4M-03594 Jean Urquhart () (Scottish National Party): That the Parliament congratulates the scientists working at the Large Hadron Collider on discovering what appears to be the Higgs Boson, also known as the God particle; acknowledges the huge significance of this discovery for particle physics and an understanding of the universe; notes that the Higgs Boson was first proposed in 1964 by six scientists, including the Edinburgh-based theoretician, Peter Higgs; understands that this Scottish connection to the discovery is complemented by the collaboration in the project of scientists from Edinburgh and Glasgow universities; believes that this discovery justifies a continuing investment in the science and technology sectors, and hopes that the project will continue to inform people’s understanding of the world.