Kate Forbes
Scottish National Party
8. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its commitment to develop a model for Scotland to challenge men’s demand for prostitution. (S6O-02727)
Siobhian Brown
Scottish National Party
The Scottish Government continues to develop a framework that effectively tackles and challenges men’s demand for prostitution, and to support those with experience of it. The framework will be published in the new year and our focus will be to implement it with support from a new stakeholder group.
The principles for the framework were published last year, and they will embed equality, human rights and safety at the heart of the new framework. The principles have also been adopted across Scottish Government to inform relevant policy and practice, in turn supporting Scotland’s collective approach to tackling commercial sexual exploitation.
Kate Forbes
Scottish National Party
Later this month, we will note 16 days of activism against gender-based violence. The Scottish Government has accepted that prostitution is violence against women. Will the Minister advise when the Scottish Government will introduce legislation to criminalise men who exploit women in this way?
Siobhian Brown
Scottish National Party
Prostitution cannot be considered in isolation, and there are many factors that must be considered in that work, of which criminal law is only one. It should be remembered that the law already prohibits many activities associated with prostitution, including trading in prostitution of others, the running of a brothel, procuring for the purposes of prostitution, as well as publicly soliciting or loitering for the purpose of purchasing sex. That is why we are focusing on the development and delivery of the framework to enable women to sustainably exit from prostitution, which will inform any future legislative considerations.
The Deputy Presiding Officer:
That concludes portfolio Question Time on justice and home affairs. There will be a short pause before we move on to the next item of business to allow those who wish to change position to do so.
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