It’s time we talked about it

Sex work often stays in the shadows, and as a society on the whole that’s the way we like it.Uncomfortable as it may be, it’s a subject that we need to talk about, and Ash Regan’s proposed Prostitution Bill means the time has come.

The main proposals of Ash Regan’s new Bill is that the selling of sex work would be decriminalised, however those paying for sexual services would be doing so illegally and could face prosecution. The main overarching principles being it would drive down demand in the hope the industry would become smaller and in turn the decriminalisation element would make it safer, easier for sex workers or prostitutes to come forward to the police if a crime, especially violence, had taken place.

This follows the Nordic Model, a policy that was adopted by Sweden in 1999 and other countries followed, such as Ireland, Iceland, and Norway. Some have other stipulations attached, such as Northern Ireland’s approach that makes others criminally liable if for example a landlord become aware that their property is being used for sex work.

It’s a model that is grounded in ending violence against women and bolstering gender equality, but not all agree. It’s hard to ignore the resistance to Regan’s new Bill, especially from a significant portion of sex workers.

However, before discussing the nitty gritty of this new policy, I think it’s important to understand how difficult it’s even to discuss sex work because definitions, titles, and language surrounding this issue is so contested. I’m sure opposing groups could have gone ten rounds on what I’ve said in the previous two paragraphs.

Do we call it prostitution or sex work? Do we call it services or acts? Is this a sector, and should we support the slogan ‘sex work is work’? Should we view sex work as a sector that victimises, incites violence against women and makes all those involved a victim, or should we acknowledge that there are many involved that view this as basically any other work that doesn’t always include victimisation and provides monetary freedom that they can’t get anywhere else? Are sex workers victims? And victims of what?

Honestly, wherever you look there is a differing opinion that unless you’ve already made up your mind, you’ll probably find elements that you agree with in different places. It makes it hard to look at any policy and fully agree with because there is a group contesting it with at least some logic that is hard to argue with. Perhaps this comes from having an industry that isn’t fully understood. No one knows the true scale of sex work in Scotland.

One of the many factors that complicates the discussions around prostitution is that it is rarely a standalone issue, it’s quite often connected to drugs, organised crime, and violence. And although we have to acknowledge that this is not the case for every individual, this is most definitely a problem. And human trafficking cannot be forgotten in this instance, but the question remains would this help them? Can it be that we can implement a policy that helps those who are voluntary in sex work and those who aren’t? I’m not too sure.

Perhaps what the majority of society can agree on is that we probably wish there was no need for sex work - supply or demand. If you’re viewing this as a commercial industry, then there would be a need to solve both of those problems. Why is there a supply, why are sex workers operating and what creates the need or want, and lastly why are some creating that demand?

As you may have noticed, I’m asking a lot of questions. But I think this is important at this stage, before we all pick a side, close our ears and defend it with venom, like we seem to be making a habit of recently.

The approach behind Regan’s Bill, the Nordic Model approach, has been flitting about Holyrood as an idea for some years. It looks to tackle the demand, and stomp it out through the threat of prosecution. And if you look at the reviews of the Swedish government, this has to an extent been a success; the sector appears to be smaller, although through the years the rise of the internet changed the sector, it didn’t experience the same spikes as neighbouring countries had.

Yet, this approach isn’t supported by a large fraction – from sex workers themselves to Amnesty International. The Nordic Model has its flaws, one being the fact that it may force workers to choose locations that are even more cut-off and secluded in order to protect clients, which will create further safety issues for them and increase the chances of violence.

It still leaves a legal grey area in some circumstances as to who might be liable, which does nothing to help build trust between workers and police, an area that as you could imagine is already lacking. Sex workers also believe that ‘good’ clients may be driven away while all they are left with is the ones who aren’t concerned about the risks and will be violent. Unfortunately, the consultation process for this Bill didn’t interact with a great deal of workers. There are several reasons for this.

Some groups that support the rights of sex workers have made it clear that the current system, which has criminalisation elements that are opposed to workers creating a more safe environment for themselves, like working in proximity to someone else, are the issues that should be focused on. They also campaign for this to be treated as a labour issue or feminist issue, rather than a violence against women issue.

The topic of feminism in prostitution has been debated for decades and for the likes of Gloria Steinem, prostitution couldn’t be further from a pro-feminism issue. Yet, for some it is. Human trafficking and modern slavery are all problems in our society that are much more prevalent than we think they are and they absolutely cannot not be separate from prostitution.

Perhaps though what I see as the biggest issue is we are doing little to address the supply in the sex industry. Why do people consensually get involved in the first place? Non-consensual is a completely criminal matter and a completely different approach. There are problems that unfortunately a Member’s Bill won’t have the capacity to tackle, such as poverty.

Poverty is a massive driver for sex work, issues getting into conventional employment, poor access to healthcare or substance abuse treatment (again not saying this is applicable across the board) are all contributors. I would hazard a guess that the majority probably didn’t envisage this line of work when growing up and in different circumstances wouldn’t be in it. The Bill does believe that prostitution is inherently harmful, a stance that is supported by a large number of different experts.

Adjacent to this and on the outskirts of the sex work industry lay subscription services such as OnlyFans. Although this is in no way the same issue, it has been interesting to see a trickle of news stories over the last few years of people turning to this line of work as a way to make a living or to fund their ‘normal’ jobs.

Yesterday’s BBC story on the canoeist who says this is what he has had to do to fund his dream of getting to the Olympics is another added to the list. Is this increase being driven by some people just trying to meet a cost-of-living crisis, and yet more proof the sex work to whatever degree is intrinsically linked to poverty?

Lastly, the Bill addresses the fact that the paths out of sex work are problematic and there should be a right for those in this sector to have access to support. Barriers to transitioning out does leave many trapped but promises from the current Government to create pathways and support hubs haven’t come to fruition yet and these are drastically important.

Like many issues that walk the line between criminality and a bit of a ‘nuisance’ (shall we say), they should be approached as a public health issue and as such holistically. It cannot be solved in isolation and there are many factors to think about.