The majority of Scots support Ash Regan MSP’s proposal to criminalise the purchase of sex, a poll has found.
Of 1,423 adults interviewed by Find Out Now, 67 per cent of those who had an opinion supported the approach while 33 per cent opposed. Nearly three quarters (74 per cent) said that prostitution makes women “less safe” in society, with only 6 per cent claiming the opposite.
Ash Regan MSP’s Prostitution (Offences and Support) (Scotland) Bill aims to reduce the demand for prostitution by fining those who purchase sex or imprisoning them for up to six months.
The Christian Institute has previously welcomed Ash Regan’s goal of criminalising the purchase of sex in Scotland, but urged MSPs to help women leave prostitution behind for good without legalising the sale of sex.
‘Vulnerable’
Nearly nine out of ten respondents who had an opinion (87 per cent) supported the Bill’s proposal to decriminalise the ‘supply’ side.
But 90 per cent agreed with stronger laws to tackle pimping, organised crime and sex trafficking with just 10 per cent in opposition.
Regan, the Independent MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, commented: “Commercial sexual exploitation of vulnerable, mainly women and girls, should never be about party politics.
“Polling shows support from voters of every main political party, sending a powerful message: Scots across the political spectrum want an end to the buying of women’s bodies and they expect Parliament to act.”
The Bill is at Stage 1 and MSPs may not have time to vote on it before next year’s Holyrood election.
Trafficking
Earlier this year, the Scottish Government’s ‘Preventing sexual exploitation’ report agreed that demand for prostitution “fosters trafficking”.
But while Community Safety Minister Siobhan Brown said the Scottish Government backed the “underlying intent of the bill to challenge men’s demand and to tackle commercial sexual exploitation”, she raised “significant and deep concerns” about how Regan’s Bill “would work in practice”.
The Christian Institute’s Policy Researcher Jenny Olson commented: “Politicians across the Scottish Parliament should drive forward a law that is as strong, ambitious and effective as possible in abolishing prostitution.”
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