Hansard

As we mark the 16 days of activism, we have a chance to reflect on the on-going impact of violence against women on our society. The sad truth is that 60 per cent of women who are murdered are murdered by someone who was supposed to love them. That statistic is shocking and seems to change little, regardless of the action that we have taken.

We live in a society where misogyny is prevalent. Those perpetrating it are being emboldened, as is the case with most hate crimes, while hiding behind anonymous social media accounts and being empowered by manosphere influencers.

Other members have highlighted what online pornography teaches our young people about sexual relationships: it not only influences boys in how they treat women; it influences girls as to what they should expect from relationships. It promotes violence against women at a very early age, and that needs to change.

We have an opportunity during these 16 days of activism to do something positive. This year, the Prostitution (Offences and Support) (Scotland) Bill has come to the Parliament. The bill seeks to decriminalise those in prostitution, criminalise sex buyers and provide routes out for those who are being exploited. The Scottish Government has accepted for more than two decades that prostitution is violence against women, yet we still criminalise women and do nothing about those who create the demand. Let us not shy away from the truth. Prostitution is a multibillion-pound industry worldwide, and those who are making their living from exploiting others will not easily give up their lucrative trade. We have seen the level of opposition to the bill, and it is often spurious. The whole trade is founded on misogyny—the idea that women can be sold as a commodity and the buyer feels free to use them in the way that they see fit, not as human beings to be treated with respect.

The truth is that one cannot buy consent—so, basically, we are turning our back on rape on an industrial scale. Women in prostitution live in danger; it is not a normal job. None of us would want our daughter, sister or mother to be exploited in prostitution. If it would be wrong for our own, it is surely wrong for everybody else.

The damage, both mental and physical, that prostitution causes is horrific. In this Parliament, there is no excuse to be unaware of that. Survivors have come and given us their testimony, yet, for the most part, MSPs have not heard them. It is upsetting and frightening to hear their experiences and, once you have heard it, you cannot unhear it, but those are not excuses to do nothing.

It is desperately sad that the Scottish Government, which recognises that prostitution is violence against women, cannot give its whole-hearted support to the bill. Every bill that comes through the Parliament is amended in one way or another. Many of the issues that are dealt with in the bill should already be in place—it should not need legislation. We should already have well-funded exit routes for those in prostitution if we really believe that it is violence against women. We should not be convicting women of soliciting offences if we really believe that it is violence against women. We should be allocating the blame for this abuse where it sits, which is squarely with the sex buyer.

The cross-party group on commercial sexual exploitation carried out research on online pimping. Many platforms, from Vivastreet to OnlyFans, advertise this work. Women are sold in Scotland today on an industrial scale. Those sites try to suggest that they take steps to ensure that their sites are not used by traffickers and exploiters. However, a quick look tells us otherwise: identical photographs, the same email address and the same phone number are used for multiple women. Women are trafficked into Scotland and then around Scotland to feed the demand, and that is violence.

France, Sweden, Ireland and many other countries have taken steps. They have implemented the policies that are included in Ash Regan’s bill. They have cut the rates of violence against women and they have furthered the cause of equality. It is clear that countries that tackle prostitution find that their society becomes more equal. Pay is more equal and caring responsibilities are shared. We should not be surprised by that, because, if one sex is commodified, it surely leads to the impression that they are less worthy than the other sex, which can use them as commodities. Because of that, prostitution impacts the whole of society and not just those who are exploited. Prostitution leads to women being treated as commodities.

If we really want to change, we have the opportunity to do so, so let us grasp it and let us back the unbuyable bill.