An evidence-based response to:

Equally Safe: A consultation on challenging men's demand for prostitution, working to

reduce the harms associated with prostitution and helping women to exit

by Centre to End All Sexual Exploitation (CEASE UK)

www.ceaseuk.org || [email protected] || Registered Charitable Incorporated Organisation

(1182515)
1. Do you agree or disagree that the Scottish Government's approach to tackling

prostitution, as outlined in this section, is sufficient to prevent violence against women

and girls? Please explain your answer.

CEASE UK (Centre to End All Sexual Exploitation) wholeheartedly applauds the Scottish

Government, and the governments of the wider UK, for its efforts in recognising the links

between trafficking and subsequent exploitation that occurs within prostitution. Having

legislative frameworks in place to punish those responsible for profiting from the trafficking

of those into prostitution is of course vital. However, we do not believe that the current legal

approach to prostitution as outlined in Chapter 2 of the Consultation is sufficient to

adequately tackle violence against women and girls within the context of prostitution.

Nonetheless, it is encouraging that this question has been framed in terms of violence against

women and girls. Research shows that nearly 90% of all prostituted individuals across the

globe are female,1 and while of course this does not mean men or transgender individuals do

not suffer violence and exploitation within prostitution, it is CEASE’s position that

prostitution is predominantly (although not exclusively) a form of male violence against

women and girls (MVAWG), and must be recognised as such to be tackled effectively.

Despite these positive steps as regards recognition of the links between trafficking and

prostitution, prostitution and MVAWG, as with England and Wales, this is only part of the

solution. To understand this in greater detail, it is vital to address the underlying reasons why

prostitution is a form of MVAWG.

While research on the demography of those who purchase sexual access (henceforth ‘sex

buyers’ (SBs)) is sparse,2 it nonetheless suggest a number of significant trends. First and

1 Graham Scambler, ‘Sex Work Stigma: Opportunist Migrants in London’ (2007) 41(6) Sociology 1079-1096

2 Roberta Perkins ‘Working girls: Prostitutes, their life and social control’ (1991) Canberra: Australian Institute
of Criminology
foremost, the vast majority of SBs are men purchasing sexual access to the bodies of women

and girls.3 This immediately frames the issue as one of power imbalance between men and

women. If prostituted individuals, who are predominantly women and girls, face any

common or even universal experiences, is this a fundamental part of the relationship between

SBs and prostituted individuals, or simply a coincidence?

It is generally acknowledged that wherever it occurs, prostitution is rife with violence (the

point of contention typically turns on whether this violence is inherent and inevitable or

whether it is a result of punitive and/or criminalising legislation).4

For example, in 2008 Farley and others interviewed 130 prostituted women in San Francisco,

82% of whom had been physically assaulted while in prostitution; 73% had been raped; and

59% had been raped more than five times while in prostitution.5

A 2002 study across five countries6 undertaken by Raymond and others found that:

‘Rates and frequency of violence and control are extremely high, with physical harm (almost

80 percent), sexual assault (over 60 percent)… leading the indicators.7

3 Martin A. Monto ‘Female Prostitution, Customers, and Violence’ (2004) 10(2) Violence Against Women 160-
188
4 For example, see: Christine Milrod and Ronald Weitzer, ‘The Intimacy Prism: Emotion Management among
the Clients of Escorts’ (2012) 15 Men and Masculinities 447; Valerie Jenness, ‘From Sex as Sin to Sex as Work:
COYOTE and the Reorganization of Prostitution as a Social Problem’ (1990) 37 Social Problems 403; and
Carol Leigh, ‘Inventing Sex Work’ in Jill Nagel (Ed), Whores and Other Feminists (Routledge 2013)
5 Melissa Farley and others, ‘Prostitution and Trafficking in Nine Countries: An Update on Violence and
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder’ (2004) 2 Journal of Trauma Practice 38

6 Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Venezuela, and the United States

7 Janice G Raymond and others, ‘A Comparative Study of Women Trafficked in the Migration Process’ (2002)
available at < https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/7092F5115C910FD8C1256F56003B65FD-
Gender_Migration_CATW_2002.pdf > 61 accessed 09 December 2020.
Further:

‘…acts…included being beaten, bit, burned… choked, crushed, dragged, hit with objects…

punched, scratched… smacked, strangled… thrown out of a car, twisted, and hair pulled…

being…urinated on, pinched in the breasts, sodomized, objects inserted in anus and vagina,

bestiality… weapons used against women… being strangled with a bandana, burned… bound

with extension cords, assaulted with…knives and guns, hit with shoes and a liquor bottle’.8

Turning to the UK specifically, research has found that on average, 46% of all prostituted

individuals reported experiencing some form of violence;9 17.8% reported rape and/or

attempted rape;10 and 7.2% reported being sexually assaulted.11

Campbell and Stoops found that 80% of those in prostitution in Liverpool had been subjected

to physical violence;12 and a multi-city study of 240 prostituted individuals undertaken by

Barnard found that 63% had been subjected to SB violence over their lifetime, 47% reported

being ‘slapped, kicked, or punched’, and 28% reported ‘attempted rape’.13

Clearly, violence against those within prostitution is extraordinarily prevalent, and is

typically experienced at the hands of SBs (but also at the hands of those who control

prostitution for gain, i.e, pimps and/or traffickers). However, as the Consultation establishes,

Scotland already has laws in place combatting the exploitation of those within prostitution, as

8 Ibid 64

9 Laura Connelly, Daiga Kamerāde and Teela Sanders, ‘Violent and Nonviolent Crimes Against Sex Workers:
The Influence of the Sex Market on Reporting Practices in the United Kingdom’ (2018) Journal of Interpersonal
Violence 9
10 ibid p11
11 ibid
12 Rosie Campbell and Shelly Stoops, ‘Taking sex workers seriously: Treating violence as hate crime in
Liverpool’ (2010) Research for Sex Work 12
13 Marina Barnard and others, ‘Violence by clients towards female prostitutes in different work settings:
questionnaire survey’ (2001) 322 British Medical Journal 524
well as broader laws criminalising sexual and non-sexual violence that might occur within the

context of prostitution (e.g. rape, sexual assault, battery etc).14 Clearly, something must be

done to tackle this beyond the existing prohibitions of violence.

It is CEASE’s position that the violence prostituted individuals face at the hands of SBs –

which as explained above, is a form of MVAWG – is a direct result of SBs being allowed to

purchase – or at least not being adequately deterred from purchasing – sexual access in the

first place.

Research demonstrates that compared to non-sex buyers (NSBs), SBs lack – or have

drastically reduced capacity for – empathy for those in prostitution, which itself is strongly

linked to sexual aggression.15 But as importantly, this lack of empathy affords SBs an

opportunity to act on pre-existing desires to enact sexual and physical violence against

women and girls within prostitution.16

As regards links between sexual violence and the purchasing of sexual access: between 2010

and 2013 four UN agencies undertook a multi-country study to understand the driving factors

behind male violence against women.17 While the study covers many factors, one key finding

was that rape perpetration was strongly linked with ‘transactional sex' (prostitution).18

14 The distinction here between sexual violence and non-sexual physical violence is admittedly very
ambiguous, raising questions as to whether all violence that occurs within prostitution, which is inherently a
“sexual” activity, would constitute sexual violence. However, for the purposes of legal clarity the distinction
between physical violence (battery, GBH etc) and sexual violence (rape, sexual assault etc) will be maintained
to explore the prevalence of both as distinct phenomena within prostitution as a whole.
15 David Lisak and Carol Ivan, ‘Deficits in Intimacy and Empathy in Sexually Aggressive Men’: (2016) Journal
of Interpersonal Violence; also R. Karl Hanson, ‘Empathy deficits of sexual offenders: A conceptual model’
(2003) 9 Journal of Sexual Aggression 13-23.

16 Melissa Farley and others, ‘Attitudes and Social Characteristics of Men Who Buy Sex in Scotland’ (2011)
3(4) Psychological Trauma Theory Research Practice and Policy 369

17 Emma Fulu and others, ‘Why Do Some Men Use Violence Against Women And How Can We Prevent It?
Quantitative Findings from the United Nations Multi-country Study on Men and Violence in Asia and the
Pacific’ (2013) Bangkok: UNDP, UNFPA, UN Women and UNV
18 ibid p10
This is supported by Farley’s research which found that 15% of SBs were more likely to rape

a woman if they thought they could get away with it compared to NSBs (2%).19 SBs reported

a higher level of sexually aggressive behaviour, as well as being more likely than NSBs (37%

vs 21%) to believe that once sex has been paid for, the woman is obligated to do whatever the

SB wants;20 in 2005, Monto and McRee found the SBs were more likely to have committed

rape;21 and in 2014, Heilman and others found that in a study of five countries, in each one

SBs were more likely to perpetrate sexual violence.22

What this demonstrates is that it is not the legislation that is the cause of sexual violence as

argued by some,23 but rather, that SBs are more predisposed to committing acts of sexual and

physical violence in the first place. Being able to purchase sex legitimises the harmful notion

that women are objects that can be sexually used with impunity, and further, presents an

opportunity for SBs to act on the predisposition towards being sexually and physically

violent.24 Any differing legislative approaches therefore can only combat or facilitate pre-

existing violence-supporting attitudes, as opposed to causing them per se.

In short, any legislative framework (applying to both prostitution but also wider sexual

violence and/or exploitation) that does not directly tackle the specific occurrence of

purchasing sexual access is prima facie “(in)sufficient to tackle male violence against women

and girls”.
19 Melissa Farley and others, ‘Comparing Sex Buyers With Men Who Do Not Buy Sex: New Data on
Prostitution and Trafficking’ (2017) 32 Journal of Interpersonal Violence 3601.

20 ibid

21 Martin A Monto and Nick McRee, ‘A Comparison of the Male Customers of Female Street Prostitutes With
National Samples of Men’ (2005) 49 International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology
505.

22 Brian Heilman, Luciana Herbert, and Nastasia Paul-Gera, ‘The Making Of Sexual Violence: How Does a
Boy Grow Up to Commit Rape?’ (2014) International Center for Research on Women (ICRW)

23 See n1
24 Farley (n19)
For the above reasons, we submit that Scotland’s current legislative framework needs

amending accordingly, namely by criminalising those who purchase and/or attempt to

purchase sexual access.

involved in prostitution in Scotland?

While Covid-19 is still a relative unknown in terms of its quantifiable impact on those within

prostitution, preliminary research suggests that economic vulnerability and instability both

drives women into the commercial sex trade and keeps them trapped within it.

As the Encompass Network report states25: The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has had

and continues to have a significant detrimental impact on the lives of women who sell and

exchange sex on street and in off street settings such as lap dancing bars, escort agencies,

pornography, and selling images online. The women involved have faced the same

challenges as many other women such as housing, no money, lack of access to services and

caring responsibilities but are also facing additional challenges in accessing support due to

stigma, fear of disclosing their specific circumstances and concerns around confidentiality.

Enforced distancing measures have rapidly shrunk the “demand” side of the equation, leaving

already-vulnerable women at greater risk due to the cliff-edge drop-off of income. As the

Centre for Social Justice and Justice & Care confirmed in their July 2020 report, this has also

resulted in a mass migration from face-to-face interactions to “online sexual services” being

advertised in an attempt to maintain income streams.26

Some may see this as a reason why SB criminalisation should be resisted, since this would

reduce the already-negligible income of a very vulnerable population. However, CEASE UK

wholly and roundly rejects this line of argument. We hold that, if Scotland does implement

25 Encompass Network, 'Preventing and eradicating prostitution: a proposed approach for Scotland'
<http://www.encompassnetwork.info/uploads/3/4/0/5/3405303/preventing_and_eradicating_prostitutio
n.pdf > accessed 09 December 2020

26 Centre for Social Justice, Jusitce & Care, 'It Still Happens Here: Fighting UK Slavery in the 2020s' (July 2020)
<https://www.justiceandcare.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Justice-and-Care-Centre-for-Social-Justice-
It-Still-Happens-Here.pdf> accessed 09 December 2020
some form of SB criminalisation, it is absolutely vital that this is combined with services that

support prostituted individuals to exit the trade, including but not limited to financial/social

welfare access and support; housing support; childcare; access to food and clothing;

healthcare access; and the guarantee that no punitive immigration (including deportation,

removal, and/or extradition) actions will be taken against those who may have arrived in the

UK through undocumented channels and/or illegally.

believe is most effective in preventing violence against women and girls?

In its immediacy, CEASE UK would like to raise two points: firstly, the legislation that

governs the prohibition of purchasing sexual services in Sweden was introduced under

Svensk författningssamling (1998:408) (SFS),27 entitled Lag om förbud mot köp av sexuella

tjänster (‘LPPSS’),28 but was subsequently repealed and replaced in 2005 by the Brottsbalken

(1962:700) (‘SCC’).29 It is now found in Chapter 6 SCC,30 and was introduced as part of the

wider ‘Kvinnofrid’ Bill,31 which ‘proposed a large number of measures in different social

sectors to combat violence against women’.32

Secondly, the names given to the various policy approaches in Table 3.1 are misnomers, and

do not accurately describe the various approaches as they would now be understood. While

CEASE would align ourselves with the explanation given in the second paragraph of

“Prohibitionism”, we would not ascribe such a title to that position.33

27 Svensk författningssamling (1998:408) trns: Swedish Code of Statutes 1998:408

28 Lag om förbud mot köp av sexuella tjänster trns: Law on the prohibition of the purchase of sexual services

29 Brottsbalken (1962:700) trns: Swedish Criminal Code

30 Chapter 6, Section 11 Brottsbalken (1962:700) states: ‘A person who, otherwise than as previously provided
in this Chapter, obtains a casual sexual relation in return for payment, shall be sentenced for purchase of
sexual service to a fine or imprisonment for at most six months.’

31 Literally translated this means ‘women’s safety’

32 Swedish Institute, ‘Selected extracts of the Swedish government report SOU 2010:49: ―The Ban against the
Purchase of Sexual Services. An evaluation 1999-2008’ (Swedish Institute 2010) < https://ec.europa.eu/anti-
trafficking/sites/antitrafficking/files/the_ban_against_the_purchase_of_sexual_services._an_evaluation_1999-
2008_1.pdf> accessed 09 December 2020

33 See Maddy Coy, Cherry Smiley and Meagan Tyler, ‘Challenging the “Prostitution Problem”: Dissenting
Voices, Sex Buyers, and the Myth of Neutrality in Prostitution Research’ (2019) 48 Archives of Sexual
Behavior 1931
It is more accurate to say that the “Nordic Model” approach would fall under the abolitionist

moniker (or possibly neo-abolitionist).34

That aside, CEASE is of the position that the Nordic Model (I.e., criminalising the purchase

and/or attempted purchase of sex while decriminalising those who sell sex) is the most

effective way to reduce MVAWG within the context of prostitution.

Analysing the alternative of blanket decriminalisation (which has been implemented in New

Zealand, and would likely fall under either the “Regulationism” or “Abolitionism” names

given in table 3.1), it was found by the New Zealand Prostitution Law Review Committee

(PLRC) that five years after the introduction of the new legislation, 35% of all prostituted

individuals still felt that ‘they had to accept a client when they didn’t want to’,35 with the

PLRC finding that ‘there are still some sex workers who are being required to provide

commercial sexual services against their will’;36 9.8% had been physically assaulted by a

client in the previous 12 months;37 3% had been raped by a client in the past 12 months;38 and

that ‘the majority (of prostituted individuals) felt that the PRA could do little about the

violence that occurred’.39 The PLRC’s report focuses on the negligible improvement that

decriminalisation has facilitated in reporting instances of these types of violence;40 all

34 For example, see Julie Bindel, The Pimping of Prostitution: Abolishing the Sex Work Myth (Springer 2019). ;
Sarah Deer, ‘Relocation revisited: Sex trafficking of native women in the United States’ (2010) 36 William
Mitchell Law Review 621.

35 Prostitution Law Review Committee, ‘Report of the Prostitution Law Review Committee on the Operation of
the Prostitution Reform Act 2003’ (Prostitution Law Review Committee 2008) <
http://prostitutescollective.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/report-of-the-nz-prostitution-law-committee-
2008.pdf> accessed 09 September 2020 p45
36 ibid p47
37 ibid p56
38 ibid
39 ibid p14
40 Janice G Raymond. ‘Gatekeeping Decriminalization of Prostitution: The Ubiquitous Influence of the New
Zealand Prostitutes' Collective,’ (2018) 3(2)(6) Dignity: A Journal on Sexual Exploitation and Violence p6
indications, even by the PLRC’s account, suggest that the rate at which it occurs has not been

helped by decriminalisation.41

Further, the approach of explicit regulation (for example, in Germany where the State impose

heavy regulations on prostitution) has been even more disastrous. A critical review of the

Prostitutionsgesetz (Prost-G) undertaken by the German Government states that: 42

‘As regards improving prostitutes’ working conditions, hardly any measurable, positive

impact has been observed in practice… (and)…there are as yet no viable indications that the

Prostitution Act has reduced crime’.43

In 2004, the German Government also found that 59% of those in prostitution had

experienced sexual violence, 87% had experienced physical violence, and 82% had

experienced psychological violence in the course of prostitution.44 There is no reason to

suspect that the same would not also occur if legalisation (“regulationism”) was introduced in

the UK, particularly when placed within the global context of legalisation as seen in The

Netherlands and Nevada, which have also had similar results.45

41 Bundesministeriums für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend, ‘Bericht der Bundesregierung zu den
Auswirkungen des Gesetzes zur Regelung der Rechtsverhältnisse der Prostituierten (Prostitutionsgesetz –
ProstG)’ trns: Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, ‘Report of the Act
Regulating the Legal Situation of Prostitutes (Prostitution Act)’ (2007) <https://ec.europa.eu/anti-
trafficking/sites/antitrafficking/files/federal_government_report_of_the_impact_of_the_act_regulating_the_lega
l_situation_of_prostitutes_2007_en_1.pdf> accessed 09 December 2020 p56
42 ibid

43 ibid p79
44 Bundesministeriums für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend, ‘Lebenssituation, Sicherheit und Gesundheit
von Frauen in Deutschland’ (2004) trns: Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and
Youth, Health, Well-Being and Personal Safety of Women in Germany’ (2004) <
https://www.bmfsfj.de/blob/94200/d0576c5a115baf675b5f75e7ab2d56b0/lebenssituation-sicherheit-und-
gesundheit-von-frauen-in-deutschland-data.pdf> accessed 09 December 2020 p26
45 For example, see Julie Bindel, ‘“It’s like You Sign a Contract to Be Raped”’ The Guardian (7 September
2007) <https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/sep/07/usa.gender> accessed 21 July 2020; and CAP
International, ‘Assessment of ten years of Swedish and Dutch policies on prostitution’ (CAP International,
August 2012) <http://www.cap-international.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Brief-prostitution-Sweden-and-
Netherlands-EN-1.pdf> accessed on 09 December 2020
Although research of how the Nordic Model has impacted violence is scant, particularly in

Sweden, a 2010 Government review ‘found no increase (in violence) since the ban went into

effect’.46 Conversely, a 2012 study undertaken in Oslo after the Nordic Model was

implemented there47 suggested that there had been an increase from 52% to 59% in terms of

individuals who had experienced violence in prostitution.48

While this is partially true, this does not tell the whole story. The study distinguishes between

types of violence experienced, and while instances such as being spat on, hair pulling, and

verbal abuse had all increased, acts such as rape, being struck with a fist, and being struck

with an open hand had all reduced since the introduction of the Nordic Model.49

Of course, this is not to disregard the former types of violence as irrelevant or not worthy of

consideration, but it appears that the Nordic Model has been an effective deterrent against

more extreme or serious types of violence.

Whilst we wholeheartedly agree that an increase in any form of violence is negative, this

arguably speaks to the inherently violent nature of prostitution. The Nordic Model can only

do so much in this regard; ultimately, the system of prostitution is driven by buyer-demand-

which comprises individuals who wish to enact violence.50 Therefore, it follows that to reduce

this violence, it is the buyer who should be criminalised. This will be explored in the next

response in greater detail.

46 Government Offices of Sweden, ‘Förbud mot köp av sexuell tjänst. En utvärdering 1999–2008’ (Government
Offices of Sweden 2010) trns: The Ban against the Purchase of Sexual Services. An Evaluation 1999–2008 <
https://www.government.se/4a4908/contentassets/8f0c2ccaa84e455f8bd2b7e9c557ff3e/english-translation-of-
chapter-4-and-5-in-sou-2010-49.pdf > accessed 09 December 2020 p33

47 Ulla Bjørndahl. ‘Dangerous Liaisons A report on the violence women in prostitution in Oslo are exposed to’
(Municipality of Oslo 2012)

48 ibid section 5.2

sex? Do you have any examples of good practice either in a domestic or an international

context?

As Anderson and others found out in the Challenging Men’s Demand research, between

69%-79% of those who purchase sexual access would be deterred by greater criminal

penalties.51 The report states:

“Most of the men told us that any amount of jail time would deter them. “An hour would be

enough.” Another recommended, “Zero tolerance – police everywhere”. One man suggested

harsh penalties: “Maybe a minimal jail sentence of two years for the clients if caught

soliciting.” Another man suggested a combination of penalties, “Some guys have plenty

money so a big fine might be nothing to them. They should get a warning first time, than

public exposure and a heavy fine.” In similar findings, Brewer, Potterat and colleagues

(2006) found that arrest deterred 70% of men from buying women in prostitution a second

time. In an extensive analysis of data from one U.S. city, they concluded, just as our

interviewees in Scotland did, that arrest was a powerful factor in deterring men from using

women in prostitution.”

Clearly the criminalisation of SBs goes some way to preventing the purchase of sexual access

in the first instance, if not within the context of violence against women and girls, certainly

within the context of deterring them through criminal sanctions. However, while previously

referenced research has demonstrated that those who purchase sexual access are more likely

to have attitudes consistent with supporting rape myths and violence against women,52 the

Nordic Model has also reportedly facilitated a paradigm shift in terms of the public’s attitudes

51 Lynn Anderson, Melissa Farley, Jacqueline Golding and Jan Macleod, 'Challenging Men’s Demand for
Prostitution in Scotland' (Women's Support Project, 2008)

52 n50
towards prostitution.53 In 1996, prior to the LPPSS’s introduction, Lewin found that only 32%

of respondents to a statistical survey thought that an SB should be regarding as a criminal.54

However, in 2002, SIFO (Swedish National Institute for Consumer Research) found that 76%

of respondents thought the purchase of sex should be criminalised,55 and then in 2010

Kuosmanen found that nearly 71% of respondents wanted to retain the SB law.56 While these

figures should be treated with caution due to methodological differences and limitations, the

consensus is that the LPPSS has had a notable change to both the market size of prostitution,

and to the public’s attitude towards SBs.

It is CEASE’s position that criminalising SBs would begin to “shift attitudes” on two fronts:

firstly, it would deter SBs from purchasing sexual access at all due to fear of criminal

sanctions; but secondly, it would facilitate a normative shift where citizens and residents

would begin to view prostitution as a form of violence against women and girls which should

not be tolerated or supported from a human rights perspective (as opposed to the

criminalisation of SBs aspect, which is more akin to a “self-preservation” perspective on the

part of SBs).

53 For example, see Von André Anwar, ‘Prostitution Ban Huge Success in Sweden’ Der Spiegel (08 November
2007) <https://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/criminalizing-the-customers-prostitution-ban-huge-success-
in-sweden-a-516030.html > accessed 09 December 2020; Jacci Stoyle, ‘Report on the Scottish Parliamentary
Prostitution Fact Finding Trip to Sweden’ (Nordic Model Now, 28 September 2019)
https://nordicmodelnow.org/2019/09/28/report-on-the-scottish-parliamentary-prostitution-fact-finding-trip-to-
sweden/ > accessed 09 December 2020
54 Bo Lewin and others, Sex i Sverige; Om Sexuallivet i Sverige 1996 (Folkhälsoinstitutet 1998)
<http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-31413> accessed 09 December 2020

55 Government Offices of Sweden, ‘Förbud mot köp av sexuell tjänst. En utvärdering 1999–2008’ (Government
Offices of Sweden 2010) trns: The Ban against the Purchase of Sexual Services. An Evaluation 1999–2008 <
https://www.government.se/4a4908/contentassets/8f0c2ccaa84e455f8bd2b7e9c557ff3e/english-translation-of-
chapter-4-and-5-in-sou-2010-49.pdf > accessed 09 December 2020 p30
56 Jari Kuosmanen, ‘Attitudes and Perceptions about Legislation Prohibiting the Purchase of Sexual Services in
Sweden’ (2011) 14 European Journal of Social Work 247.
5. Taking into account the above, how can the education system help to raise awareness

and promote positive attitudes and behaviors amongst young people in relation to

consent and healthy relationships?

In its immediacy, it is positive that the Scottish Government wishes to raise awareness as to

the harms associated with prostitution in an educational context as well as a legislative one.

In a cultural environment where movements and campaign groups such as #MeToo and We

Can’t Consent to This are making strides to challenge the concept of consent and how

acquiescence is not a sufficient substitute, this too should extend to educating young people –

in an age-appropriate manner – as to the reality of prostitution and its relationship to consent,

or lack thereof.

International and domestic legal frameworks preclude consent when force and/or coercion is

used in regards to engaging in sexual activity57, and given the high rate of physical and sexual

violence (which should necessarily be considered non-consensual given its conceptualisation

as “violence”) within prostitution, this should be the starting point for any educational

programs seeking to educate young people as to how consent may be affected by different

contexts.

It is CEASE’s position that the system of prostitution is an environment where consent is

overwhelmingly and consistently vitiated in one form or another, and those vitiations are

57 For example, see Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and
Children (Palermo Protocol) 2000, Article 3(a): ‘"Trafficking in persons" shall mean the recruitment,
transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other
forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability
or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over
another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of
the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or
practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs’ ; and Article 3(b): ‘The consent of a victim
of trafficking in persons to the intended exploitation set forth in subparagraph (a) of this article shall be
irrelevant where any of the means set forth in subparagraph (a) have been used’
inextricably linked to prostitution as a whole – i.e., it is impossible for prostitution to exist

without also tacitly condoning the inherent vitiations of consent therein.

As campaign group Nordic Model Now have demonstrated in their submission to this

inquiry, terminology is vital to this issue . While it is CEASE’s position (and of Nordic

Model Now) that prostitution is a form of sexual exploitation, it should not be grouped under

this umbrella at the expense of the term “prostitution”. This is for two reasons: firstly, as

Nordic Model Now have pointed out, prostitution may not appear as a form of sexual

exploitation to those who only know it as “sex work”. If we do not use the term “prostitution”

in relation to sexual exploitation, people will not make the link between the two. Secondly,

the sanitisation of prostitution as sex work has created a culture that seeks to normalise such

exploitation.58

In New Zealand, for example, prostitution has been literally recategorised as work, yet the

exploitation persists. Education programmes must retain and refer to the more accurate and

non-sanitising term “prostitution”. As SBs are overwhelmingly men to the point that female

SBs are statistically insignificant59, education should also focus on sex inequality within

prostitution, and how as a system it further ingrains and promotes misogyny .

Educational programmes should be formulated to grasp the nettle of this challenge while

ensuring young men do not feel alienated from the conversation. It is vital that men

understand that it is almost always men who purchase sexual access, without implying that

“all men will/do purchase sexual access”. Since in fact research shows that the vast majority

of men do not or have not paid for sexual access60, it is key to ensure that young men

understand they have a dual status in this conversation. Firstly, that they as a group (but not
58 For example, see Julie Bindel, The Pimping of Prostitution: Abolishing the Sex Work Myth (Springer 2019)
pp 63-86

59 Martin Monto, 'Female Prostitution, Customers, and Violence' (2004) 10(2) Violence Against Women 160-
188.
necessarily as individuals) are responsible for the exploitation that occurs within prostitution

and secondly that those who do not or would not purchase sexual access recognise their

opportunity, even responsibility, to challenge the attitudes of those who would or do.

Men typically follow the lead of other men in their peer group, so tackling the attitudes and

driving factors that lead young men to purchase sexual access in the near or distant future at

its root would afford a valuable preventative measure and thus tackle demand overall.

60 Demand Abolition, 'Who Buys Sex? Understanding and Disrupting Illicit Market Demand' (2019)
<https://www.demandabolition.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Demand-Buyer-Report-July-2019.pdf>
accessed 09 December 2020
6. How can the different needs of women involved in prostitution (in terms of their

health and wellbeing) be better recognised in the provision of mainstream support?

CEASE UK emphatically calls for statutory provision of exit services for women within

prostitution. Currently, the majority of support services are reliant upon charitable donations

(although during Covid the UK Government have provided some financial support to the

broader demographic of “at risk” individuals), and this cannot and should not be the

expectation if any law reform were to take place (and arguably, should not be the case

irrespective of that).

Without sufficient and robust statutorily-guaranteed provision of support services for women

within prostitution, and for those who wish to exit, any legislation that reduces demand and,

however temporarily or long-term, impacts the income of women within prostitution, would

be disastrous for their mental and physical well-being.

As to the support itself: this should be female-led, trauma informed, women-only (within the

context of this inquiry), and should be administered by those with specialist expertise or

understanding of the broader harms of prostitution.

Support services need to be specialist but also multi-faceted (or at least have the capacity to

be able to facilitate multi-needs support). They must recognise that things such as addiction,

poverty, and homelessness are often intrinsically related to the prostitution (that is, the

specific transaction and immediate “act” of prostitution)61. Without the expertise of those who

recognise prostitution as harmful and often the result of pre-existing vulnerabilities, the

61 For example, see ‘OHCHR | Statement on Visit to the United Kingdom, by Professor Philip Alston, United
Nations Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights’ <
https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=23881> accessed 09 December
2020; and Kuba Shand-Baptiste, ‘The Rise of “Survival Sex” Is a Crushing Reminder of the Results of Britain’s
Austerity-Fuelled Poverty (The Independent, 22 May 2019) <https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/austerity-
sex-survival-universal-credit-poverty-prostitution-un-report-a8925256.html> accessed 09 December 2020.
women involved will continue to be at risk of violence from SBs and will not have the

opportunities to make more empowering decisions about their lives

introduction of the Nordic Model as a method of reducing the overall prostitution “market”

by reducing demand, while supporting women to exit. The evidence from other jurisdictions

(in previous responses) demonstrates that anything other than SB criminalisation results in

market expansion, which means fewer women exit than enter prostitution.

In the UK, the same pattern of exploitation has occurred in the “Leeds Managed Zone” which

has trialled a version of decriminalisation, which critics have said ‘enables paid rape’, has

‘expanded the market’, and ‘encouraged trafficking of women and girls’.62 Even pro-

decriminalisation advocates have conceded that ‘violence remains high’ and ‘Amongst sex

workers there was not a sense that the Managed Area had improved safety for the street sex

workers as fear of crime persisted’ in Holbeck.63

Conversely, in Ipswich a similar version of the Nordic Model was trialled64. This approach

focused on four objectives:

1. Tackling demand—by deterring those who create the demand (i.e. kerb-crawlers) and

removing the opportunity for street sex-working to take place.

62 See Julie Bindel, ‘'I worry they are trafficked': is the UK's first 'legal' red light zone working?’ The Guardian
(29 June 2019) < https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/jun/29/worry-trafficked-uk-first-legal-
red-light-zone-leeds-holbeck > accessed 09 December 2020; ‘How Leeds enables paid rape’ UnHerd (20 July
2020) < https://unherd.com/2020/07/how-authorities-in-leeds-enable-paid-rape/> accessed 09 December 2020;
Charles Hymas, ‘'A disaster from day one': Is this the end of Britain's first 'legal' red light district?’ The
Telegraph (24 July 2018) < https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/women-and-girls/disaster-day-one-end-
britains-first-legal-red-light-district/> accessed 09 December 2020; Charles Hymas and Corinne Redfern,
‘Violence, drugs and sexual diseases: How managed zones for prostitution are failing women worldwide’ The
Telegraph (23 July 2018) < https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/women-and-girls/violence-drugs-sexual-
diseases-managed-zones-prostitution-failing/> accessed 09 December 2020
63 Teela Sanders & Vineeta Sehmbi. ‘Evaluation of the Leeds Street Sex Working Managed Area’ (University
of Leeds, 2015) < https://www.nswp.org/sites/nswp.org/files/Executive%20Summary%20Leeds%2C%20U
%20of%20Leeds%20-%20Sept%202015.pdf> accessed 09 December 2020
64 Nordic Model Now!, 'How a Nordic Model approach to tackling prostitution was implemented in Ipswich'
<https://nordicmodelnow.org/2017/11/14/how-a-nordic-model-approach-to-tackling-prostitution-was-
implemented-in-ipswich/> accessed 09 December 2020
2. Developing routes out—by offering individual multi-agency case conferences and

appropriate health/welfare support packages to each street sex worker.

3. Prevention—through awareness-raising and early intervention measures to stop others,

particularly children and young people from becoming involved in sex work.

4. Community intelligence—through understanding the key issues, the extent of the problem,

and its impact on the local community.

The approach produced a notable improvement both in terms of the lives and well-being of

the women involved, and also a reduction in purchasing/attempts to purchase sexual access.65

In its conclusion the report states:

The evaluation of this Strategy showed that co-ordinated multi-agency activity had been

successful in:

 eliminating street prostitution and kerb crawlers in Ipswich;

 helping women make life changes to move on from prostitution;

 making effective in-roads into preventing others, especially the young, from becoming

involved in prostitution; and

 reducing demand and costs on the criminal justice services.

The evaluation highlighted the central importance of a joint commitment of criminal

justice, social, health and voluntary agencies and their sustained relationships with

the local community in developing a shared change in attitude towards prostitution

and those involved in it. Finally, it concluded that there is much to commend this

65 Gwyneth Boswell, Ric Fordham, Julie Houghton, James Jarrett, Anne Killett, Fiona Poland, Laura Seebohm,
and Anna Varley, 'Findings From The University Of East Anglia’s Evaluation Of The Ipswich/Suffolk
Multi-Agency Strategy On Prostitution Following The Five Murders In 2006' (2014) Law Review
<https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/55750/1/EVISSTA_paper.pdf> accessed 09 December 2020
 collaborative Strategy both to other regions of the UK and to other countries, as an

innovative, effective and cost-effective means of achieving justice for all stakeholders.

For the reasons above, we urge the Scottish Government to introduce legislation that begins to

criminalise those who purchase sexual access, while affording women routes out of prostitution; and,

fundamentally, to recognise prostitution as a form of systemic violence against women that can only

be tackled with measures that recognise it as such.