Former candidate for leadership within the Scottish National Party (SNP), Ash Regan, has embarked on an initiative known as the "Unbuyable" campaign, with the primary objective of establishing a legal prohibition on the transactional aspect of sexual services. Regan, a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) and previously a minister responsible for community safety, seeks to curtail the practice of purchasing sexual services throughout Scotland.
At present, Scotland's legal framework criminalizes certain activities linked to prostitution, including "kerb crawling," public solicitation, and the operation of brothels. Nevertheless, the act of selling and buying sexual services remains permissible, including the operation of online platforms facilitating such transactions. Regan's "Unbuyable" campaign, hosted on Unbuyable.org, endeavors to instate fresh legislation that would criminalize the act of purchasing sexual services.
In her statement to The National, Regan elucidated the campaign's broader mission, characterizing it as a "clarion call" aimed at eradicating the systemic exploitation of women and girls in Scotland. The campaign seeks to foster a society where the sanctity of human dignity is inviolable and where women and girls are not subjected to commodification. Regan aspires to transform this vision into a tangible reality with the support of the public.
The Unbuyable website further underscores the campaign's purpose, emphasizing the imperative for society to confront an unsettling verity: that the purchase of sexual services is far from victimless, entailing enduring scars of exploitation. Regan's mission is unequivocal: to bring an end to this practice in Scotland, affirming that human dignity is not a tradable commodity. This mission envisions a Scotland where every individual becomes truly "Unbuyable."
While the Scottish Government's 2021-2022 Programme for Government (PfG) included a commitment to formulate an effective strategy addressing the demand for prostitution among men, this commitment appears to have been omitted from the subsequent two annual programs for 2022-2023 and 2023-2024. In 2022, Dr. Jacci Stoyle, the secretary of the Scottish Parliament's Cross-Party Group on Commercial Sexual Exploitation, pointed out that Sweden had, since 1999, enacted legislation criminalizing the purchase of sexual services. This Swedish approach, commonly referred to as the "Nordic Model," has witnessed a noteworthy shift in societal attitudes, with a mere 0.29 percent of men in Sweden reportedly engaging in the purchase of sexual services, in stark contrast to approximately 10 percent of men in the United Kingdom who admit to such behavior.
Several advocacy organizations in Scotland, including Tara (Trafficking Awareness Raising Alliance), the Encompass Network, Routes Out, and Survivors of Human Trafficking, have previously advocated for the Scottish Government to follow Sweden's example. The organization Zero Tolerance, dedicated to ending male violence against women, also articulated concerns about the existing legal framework in Scotland. In a 2011 blog post written by lawyer Phillipa Greer, the organization criticized Scotland's laws as "unhelpful and contradictory," asserting that they stigmatize prostitutes by prioritizing public nuisance concerns.
Greer additionally raised the critical point that by criminalizing public acts linked to the sale of sexual services while not addressing the act of purchasing itself, Scottish law may inadvertently drive women into more perilous circumstances. She argued that the visibility of such activities in public spaces is what constitutes the offense, and these restrictions overlook the inherent harm endured by sex workers, while also increasing the risks they face. Such restrictions may prompt sex workers to hastily enter vehicles to avoid drawing attention, and they can lead to displacement, forcing individuals into more concealed and less supervised areas.
For those interested in further information about Ash Regan's "Unbuyable" campaign, additional details are available on the campaign's website.