Earlier this month, the Scottish Parliament voted down the Prostitution (Offences and Support) (Scotland) Bill, which would have moved Scotland toward the Nordic Model of sex work law, criminalizing the purchase of consensual adult sex. Members of Parliament rejected the bill after their first general discussion about it. This outcome reflects months of campaigning led by sex worker rights organizations who raised serious concerns that the bill would make consensual sex work more dangerous, not safer.
Sex worker rights advocates, organized by Scotland for Decriminalisation of Sex Work, campaigned tirelessly against the proposal, arguing that criminalizing clients would push sex work further underground and undermine workers’ ability to stay safe. Amelia Lavery of Scotland for Decrim described the effort as “tirelessly campaigning for sex workers’ rights and against the Nordic Model, which would have put sex workers — especially the most vulnerable — in danger.”
Other voices echoed these concerns. Jacqui Stevenson, Senior Policy, Research and Influencing Manager at a UK health organization, noted that the bill “would have pushed sex work further underground, undermining the agency of sex workers and increasing the risk of HIV-related harms.”
Policymakers in the Scottish Parliament also referenced evidence in the debate. Scottish Green MSP Maggie Chapman highlighted research showing that in countries where sex buying is criminalized, sex workers still face criminal penalties through intersecting laws and policing practices, and the enforcement of buyer bans can heighten vulnerability to eviction, deportation, and violence.
These testimonies helped shape a debate grounded in evidence and lived experience, with many of the policy makers concluding that the bill’s harms would outweigh its intended benefits.
Introduced in May 2025 by MSP Ash Regan, the proposed legislation would have criminalized buying sex while claiming to protect people who sell it. It would have shifted criminal penalties onto clients, increasing police surveillance, and leaving in place other laws that continue to punish sex workers for working together or in shared spaces.
Critics pointed out that even if selling sex was technically decriminalized, related offences such as loitering for prostitution, brothel-keeping, and other associated activities, would still put sex workers at risk. These adjacent laws leave many unable to work together or access basic protections.
The defeat of this proposal is significant because it reflects a growing recognition that policies must center the voices and safety of sex workers themselves. Rather than imposing a punitive legal framework, policy makers and advocates underscored the need for evidence-based approaches that reduce harm and respect autonomy and human rights.
As the debate continues, sex workers and their allies remain focused on advancing decriminalization, which is supported by leading global health and human rights bodies, as it decreases violence and exploitation and increases safety, access to justice, and health outcomes.
Scotland’s vote this month is a powerful reminder that when sex workers’ voices are valued and policy is guided by evidence rather than ideology, the result is legislation that protects lives and upholds dignity.
