The bill would criminalise the purchase of sex, repeal offences that target the seller, quash historic convictions, and create a statutory right to support for those in and exiting prostitution.

Speaking ahead of the bill’s formal introduction, Ms Regan said: “Prostitution is not a job like any other, as some lobby groups claim; it is a system of commercial sexual exploitation that targets the vulnerable, is driven by demand and is enabled by silence. Commodifying human beings has consequences – it’s time we reframe the shame.

“Today, I am proud to bring commercial sexual exploitation out of the shadows into a debate across Scotland, by formally lodging the Unbuyable Bill in Parliament. Unbuyable is the first key step in tackling attitudes that have shamefully normalised inequality of the sexes and underpinned the scourge of male violence against women.

“It is a bill forged by those who have survived the system of exploitation, for their own recovery and for those still trapped inside or vulnerable to such exploitation. It recognises what so many are afraid to say: that buying sexual access to a human being is a form of male violence.”

The bill aligns with the Nordic Model – adopted in countries such as Sweden, Norway, France, and Ireland.

However, the Scotland for Decrim campaign, established to oppose the proposals, said it “absolutely rejects Ash Regan’s attempts to bring in the Nordic Model on sex work in Scotland”.

Sex workers have “experienced more violence from clients and the police” in countries with the Nordic model in place, a spokesperson said. The group, a sex worker-led coalition, said that “this offensive bill will endanger sex workers by exposing us to more violence, poverty, and exploitation”.

The spokesperson added: “Criminalising clients does not solve the reasons why people go into sex work: because of financial need, caring responsibilities, disability, or simply preferring this work to other kinds of work.

“Sex workers are the experts on our own needs. We know that only full decriminalisation will protect our safety, health, and human rights, giving us the power to choose when and how we work.

“This Nordic model bill would be disastrous for sex workers’ safety, as we have seen in other countries where this model has been implemented and sex workers have experienced more violence from clients and the police.”