Members of the sex worker-led organisation Scotland for Decrim demonstrated outside Holyrood to call attention to the “harmful impact” this bill would have on current sex workers. 

Scotland for Decrim said research has shown that criminalising the act of buying sex does not significantly reduce demand for these services, but it does make it more difficult for sex workers to work safely, as clients are less likely to comply with safety checks for fear of being identified and potentially arrested.

Campaigners highlighted evidence from other countries where this legislation has been implemented. After buying sex was criminalised in Northern Ireland, there was an increase in violent crime against sex workers by 225 per cent. In Norway, Amnesty International revealed that hundreds of sex workers were made homeless through forced evictions as a result of similar legislation.

Liz Thomson, Amnesty International UK’s Scotland programme director, said: “If passed into law this bill will cause many of the same harms against sex workers in Scotland as our researchers have documented in other jurisdictions where the purchase of sex is criminalised.

“As Amnesty’s extensive worldwide consultations and first-hand research has shown, the main driver of sex work is poverty and the route to supporting those who want to exit sex work is to ensure that their economic and social rights like access to adequate housing, food and social security are upheld.

“We call on MSPs to oppose the bill and to ensure that the voices and experiences of sex workers are at the centre of any decision making in Scotland that impacts their lives.”

Scotland for Decrim’s political officer, Laura Baillie, said: “No one currently sex in Scotland has been consulted by Ash Regan over this dangerous bill. If she was at all interested in improving the lives of sex workers, she never would have proposed this. It is baffling that she is ignoring people currently selling sex and the vast amount of international evidence in favour of decriminalisation, including from Amnesty International and the World Health Organisation.”

Nina Hart, who is currently selling sex, said: “I’m protesting against Ash Regan’s Nordic model because if it does come into effect, it’ll directly impact my life and my safety. If you criminalise clients, you scare away good customers and leave me with only those who don’t care about breaking the law.

“Clients will refuse to share their real names or ID with me, I will have to start accepting bookings from boundary pushers who will ask me to provide services I’m not comfortable with because they know with fewer clients around they’ve got the upper hand, and I will be more at risk.

“Sex work is the best option for me to earn money, and Ash Regan wants to take my bread and butter away. If her bill passes and something happens to me at work, know that she has blood on her hands.”