On the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers, 17 December, Jean Urquhart has given her support to the voluntary organisations that work to protect the health and saftey of sex workers in Scotland.

Thousands of sex workers and sex worker-led organisations around the world, and their allies, mark each 17 December as the the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers. The event began in 2003 to honour the sex workers who were murdered by the Green River Killer in Seattle, and 2015 is the 12th annual event.

Jean joined the sex-worker charity ScotPep, the grassroots collective Sex Worker Open University (SWOU), the community health project Umbrella Lane and HIV charity Terence Higgins Trust Scotland in observing the day and calling for the decriminalisation of sex work, as proposed by Jean’s Prostitution Law Reform Bill.

Criminalisation and stigma mean that sex workers are disproportionately vulnerable to violence, including in Scotland. Jean has brought forward the proposed Bill to change the law to make sex workers safer, and her proposals that have been supported by every sex worker-led organisation in Scotland.

Jean said:

“When I started speaking with sex workers in Scotland I was struck by what they told me about how the law makes them less safe. For example, two women working together for safety in a flat can be both arrested for brothel-keeping, which forces sex workers to work alone – and signals to predators that they are ‘easy targets’.

“It should be unconscionable that the law makes sex workers so vulnerable to violence, and I’m proud to have brought forward proposals that are based on what people who sell sex say will keep them safe. International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers should be a day of reflection, and I hope that my colleagues in Holyrood will reflect on whether it should be acceptable for another year to pass with sex workers in Scotland still denied access to safety and justice.”

Luca Stevenson, co-founder of the Sex Worker Open University, said:

“Violence against sex workers is endemic across Europe. Too often, the supposed ‘solution’ is presented as the criminalisation of clients – a disastrous policy failure that has made sex workers vastly more vulnerable to violence, HIV, and stigma. Jean Urquhart’s proposals can lead the way in Europe in showing that laws built around respect for sex workers are possible.”

Nadine Stott, ScotPep co-chair, said:

“Sex workers in Scotland have seen another year pass where criminalisation has meant that they are still vulnerable to violence. However, there is also hope: for the first time this year, a debate about sex work policy launched with the voices and concerns of sex workers themselves at the heart of it. We’re looking forward to 2016, hopeful that this will set the tone for future discussion about the laws that affect sex workers. Only then can policy be shaped in such a way as to push back on the epidemic of violence that sex workers in Scotland face.”

ScotPep board member Raven Bowen said:

“Today as we light our candles and honour our dead, we also recognise that all eyes are on Scotland in 2016, which can be among the first countries to stand on behalf of sex workers and enact legislation that prioritises their health, safety and human rights. Sex workers, activists and researchers are redoubling advocacy efforts across the United Kingdom to ensure that sex workers are never again denied their due rights and the benefits of citizenship.”

Anastacia Ryan, co-founder of Umbrella Lane, said:

“Sex workers were telling us that they were feeling unable to access health and support services in the Glasgow area because of the stigma and judgement that they were being subject to. This is an unacceptable state of affairs: sex workers deserve unimpeded access to health care and to support. We set up Umbrella Lane as a community-led health project to fill this gap, because stigma, judgement, and lack of access to healthcare are also forms of violence against sex workers.

“We’ve been delighted by the supportive response from the community and from sex workers accessing our services – there is a growing recognition that stigma and criminalisation should be consigned to the past, and Jean Urquhart’s proposals are a key part of moving our society forward.”

Robert McKay, National Director at Terrence Higgins Trust Scotland said:

“Tackling violence against sex workers is a crucial component of reducing the transmission of HIV and improving the sexual health of everyone in the industry. This is why the Terrence Higgins Trust Scotland, like our colleagues elsewhere in the UK, has long supported the full decriminalisation of sex work along the lines of Jean Urquhart’s proposals. On International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers, Terrence Higgins Trust Scotland again calls on policymakers to listen to sex workers and the evidence – Scotland needs the New Zealand model.”

Find out more and have your say: visit prostitutionreform.scot.

Scots now have until Tuesday 8 December to give their views on Jean’s proposal for a new law to protect the rights and safety of sex workers by decriminalising activities associated with the buying and selling of sex, and by strengthening measures against coercion.

The public consultation on the proposed Prostitution Law Reform (Scotland) Bill was due to close on Tuesday 1 December, but Jean has extended the deadline by seven days in response to a late flurry of submissions, and after receiving requests from some important stakeholders for extra time to finalise their comments.

Jean has launched a new website, prostitutionreform.scot, to provide easy-to-understand information and evidence on her proposals, and to guide you through the process of submitting your response to the consultation. You can also download the consultation document, which includes full details on how to contribute your views.

Jean worked closely with sex workers’ rights charity SCOT-PEP in the development of her proposals, which are based on successful reform in New Zealand, and are also backed by HIV Scotland and NUS Scotland.

The new law would:

• Permit small groups of sex workers (up to four) to work together from the same premises, and for larger premises to be licensed. Currently, even two sex workers who work together for safety are criminalised for brothel-keeping – forcing sex workers to work alone increases their vulnerability to violence.

• Scrap laws against soliciting and kerb-crawling. Evidence shows both measures reduce the amount of time sex workers have to assess their safety and agree services, which again increases their vulnerability to violence.

• Extend protection against coercion, which only applies to female sex workers under current legislation, and make those provisions more robust – in line with what sex workers say they need.

• Permit sex workers to have joint finances with their families or flatmates. Currently the partners and family of sex workers are criminalised, which is isolating and stigmatising, and assumes coercion rather than tackling coercion directly.

Jean said:

“We’ve had a great response to the consultation so far, with a huge diversity of viewpoints from across Scotland and as far afield as Canada and Namibia.

“As the initial deadline nears we’ve had a rush of responses, but there are also some important Scottish stakeholders who have told us they are still developing their submissions.

“I think it’s essential we give everyone the maximum possible opportunity to have their say, so we’ve decided to extend the deadline for responses by a week. You can now contribute to the consultation up until Tuesday the 8th of December.

“I urge everyone to read the proposal and give their views. None of it is in technical language and it’s been prepared in partnership with people with direct experience of sex work. You can give your views entirely in your own words and there’s no need to produce a long response – whatever you want to say is valuable.

“Despite the support for decriminalisation offered by organisations from Amnesty International to the World Health Organisation, I know these proposals will be controversial. Some think sex work is simply immoral, or cannot be made safer, or that punishing clients can be done without harming sex workers. Others claim that sex workers are somehow themselves responsible for the problems of a sexist society.

“I hope everyone will take this opportunity to take a look at my proposals, make up their own mind and have their say.”

Nadine Stott, co-chair of SCOT-PEP, said:

“We are incredibly grateful to Jean Urquhart for bringing forward the first comprehensive set of proposals designed to allow sex workers to work safely in Scotland. The purchase and sale of sex is currently legal, but in general, the law prevents sex workers from being able to work safely, and that must end. There is no reason why sex work should only be permissible if a single person works alone in their flat, for example. That law leaves sex workers vulnerable to violence and exploitation, as do the current laws on street-based sex work, which also seriously hamper sex workers’ ability to move onto other work.

“The evidence from New Zealand, where similar proposals were passed in 2003 in close consultation with sex worker-led organisations, is that putting safety first works. The New Zealand model reduces violence, enables sex workers to have greater confidence in reporting crimes to the police. It has also not led to an increase in sex work.

“We look forward to supporting this process through Parliament, to seeing responses to the consultation, and to working with MSPs to put sex workers’ safety at the heart of the debate for the first time.”

Jean Urquhart has published a consultation on a new law to promote sex workers’ rights and safety by decriminalising sex work.

Jean’s proposed Prostitution Law Reform (Scotland) Bill has been developed in close consultation with sex workers in Scotland, and are supported by SCOT-PEP, a charity which campaigns for the rights of sex workers. It has also been supported by HIV Scotland and NUS Scotland, and the decriminalisation approach taken by Jean’s proposals is backed by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, UNAIDS and the World Health Organisation.

Read Jean’s personal message — Download the consultation

The proposed Bill would:

The four key elements of the proposed legislation are as follows:

1. Permit small groups of sex workers (up to four) to work together from the same premises, and for larger premises to be licensed. Currently, even two sex workers who work together for safety are criminalised for brothel-keeping – forcing sex workers to work alone increases their vulnerability to violence.
2. Scrap laws against soliciting and kerb-crawling. Evidence shows both measures reduce the amount of time sex workers have to assess their safety and agree services, which again increases their vulnerability to violence.
3. Extend protection against coercion, which only applies to female sex workers under current legislation, and make those provisions more robust – in line with what sex workers say they need.
4. Permit sex workers to have joint finances with their families or flatmates. Currently the partners and family of sex workers are criminalised, which is isolating and stigmatising, and assumes coercion rather than tackling coercion directly.

The consultation is open for responses from the pubic until December 1st 2015. You can download the consultation document here.

Speaking about why she has developed the proposals, Jean said:

“With the death of Margo MacDonald, Scotland’s sex workers lost an irreplaceable friend and ally. With the exception of the proposals she campaigned for, the debate about Scotland’s prostitution laws has for too long been conducted as if sex workers should be pushed out of sight. They have been systematically ignored while laws which expose them to violence and stigma have been preserved or extended. These proposals take on board not only the experience and concerns of sex workers, but also reflect a growing international consensus that what sex workers most need is safety and labour rights, not the risks which come from criminalisation.

“Despite the support for decriminalisation offered by organisations from Amnesty International to the World Health Organisation, these proposals will be controversial. Some think sex work is simply immoral, or cannot be made safer, or that punishing clients can be done without harming sex workers. Others claim that sex workers are somehow themselves responsible for the problems of a sexist society. I would urge anyone who takes those views to read the evidence, to read the consultation, and to consider whether their feelings are more important than sex workers’ right to work safely.”

Nadine Stott, co-chair of the sex workers’ rights charity SCOTPEP, said:

“We are incredibly grateful to Jean Urquhart for bringing forward the first comprehensive set of proposals designed to allow sex workers to work safely in Scotland. The purchase and sale of sex is currently legal, but in general, the law prevents sex workers from being able to work safely, and that must end. There is no reason why sex work should only be permissible if a single person works alone in their flat, for example. That law leaves sex workers vulnerable to violence and exploitation, as do the current laws on street-based sex work, which also seriously hamper sex workers’ ability to move onto other work.

“The evidence from New Zealand, where similar proposals were passed in 2003 in close consultation with sex worker-led organisations, is that putting safety first works. The New Zealand model reduces violence, enables sex workers to have greater confidence in reporting crimes to the police. It has also not led to an increase in sex work. We look forward to supporting this process through Parliament, to seeing responses to the consultation, and to working with MSPs to put sex workers’ safety at the heart of the debate for the first time.”

Stewart Cunningham, also co-chair of SCOTPEP, said:

“I recently had the opportunity to visit New Zealand to explore the effects of their legal model first hand. While I was there I met with sex workers, representatives of the New Zealand Prostitutes Collective, and a number of academics who have studied the impact of the law, and I am convinced now more than ever that this is a legislative model that Scotland must adopt. In New Zealand, the rights, health and safety of sex workers are prioritised above any moral or ideological objection to exchanging sex for money. I met with the former sex worker who was the first person to take a brothel manager to court for sexual harassment and was awarded $25,000 in compensation. She emphasised to me how in a decriminalized system she did not have to tolerate harassment and abuse from her manager and was empowered to use the law to hold him to account.

“The effect of the New Zealand approach to sex work is summed up in the words of the human rights tribunal in this case when they said simply that ‘sex workers have the same human rights as other workers.’ It is time that Scotland began prioritising the rights and protection of people who trade or sell sex, for whatever reason, rather than arresting and prosecuting them and perpetuating harm.”

George Valiotis, Chief Executive Officer for HIV Scotland, said:

“International organisations like UNAIDS and the World Health Organization have long called for the decriminalisation of sex work, and Jean’s proposals are firmly based in that evidence. In 2012, the WHO called the decriminalisation of sex work a ‘minimum global standard’. Criminalisation clearly inhibits sex workers’ safety and access to services, including HIV-related services. As such, we welcome any move to follow these international and evidenced-based recommendations.”

NUS Scotland President Vonnie Sandlan said:

“I’m delighted that these proposals have been brought forward – they are long overdue. The safety and rights of sex workers is a feminist issue, and one which we know is of great importance to students in Scotland. As a feminist I wholeheartedly support these measures, and hope that they signify the start of a new normal in policymaking, where the voices and experiences of sex workers are prioritised.”

Luca Stevenson, co-ordinator for the European Network of Sex Work Projects (ICRSE), said:

“ICRSE, a European network of seventy five organisations advocating for sex workers’ rights, strongly supports this decriminalisation bill.

“The criminalisation of sex work profoundly fails to protect sex workers. Criminalisation of the purchase of sex, as experimented with in Sweden and Norway, increased the stigma directed against sex workers, and increased sex workers’ vulnerability to violence – and made them less likely to report abuse and violence to the police. We hope MSPs will listen to sex workers and human rights organisations who, after years of research, unequivocally support decriminalisation.”

Cat, a sex worker in Scotland, said:

“Finally a politician has listened to us and put our safety first. I can’t understand why policymakers love to talk about how dangerous sex work is and yet support laws that force us to sell sex alone. Jean listened to people currently selling sex in Scotland and actually cared about our safety, rather than grandstanding or seeing us as a problem to be ‘cleared away’. I hope other politicians will follow her lead.”

Mike, a male sex worker, said:

“I have worked for several years in Glasgow, offering sexual services to men. Society needs to comes to terms that many of us have decided to sell sex and laws that criminalise us do not stop sex work. Many of my clients are mature men who have only recently accepted their sexuality and prefer to hire an escort than hanging out on the ‘gay scene’ or using apps. It is unbelievable that people would want to see either my clients or myself fined or jailed. Criminalising consensual sex between adults should be confined to the 1960s, not a modern democratic country like Scotland.”