I AM proud to be introducing my Unbuyable Bill to the Scottish Parliament to tackle a root cause of male attitudes towards and violence against women and girls – the commodification of human beings.

While the legislation applies to men and women, it acknowledges the stark reality that the majority of those selling sex are women, while nearly all buyers are men. At its core, commercial sexual exploitation is about power, inequality, and violence, and Scotland can no longer afford to look away.

For far too long, society has normalised the buying and selling of sex, overlooking the exploitation that lies behind it.

Society is increasingly alert now to the reality and consequences of harmful public attitudes toward women and girls, perpetuated by the idea that people can be treated as commodities and sexual violence too often left unchecked. The Unbuyable Bill sends a clear message: commercial sexual exploitation of prostitution will no longer be tolerated in Scotland. It is time to protect the vulnerable and hold those responsible for perpetuating exploitation and abuse to account.

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Commercial sexual exploitation disproportionately affects women and girls. Many of those caught up in prostitution are survivors of trauma, including childhood sexual abuse, which makes them especially vulnerable to exploitation.

To truly address this issue, We must break the cycle of harm that keeps people trapped in prostitution. Survivors often devalue themselves as a result of the trauma they have experienced, making them more susceptible to further exploitation. When your choices are shaped by hardship or a lack of opportunity, it is never a free choice. That’s why this bill is about more than criminalising buyers of sex – it’s also about changing the narrative, shifting public attitudes, and providing tangible support to those affected, helping them leave prostitution and rebuild their lives.

The Unbuyable Bill introduces three major changes to how Scotland addresses commercial sexual exploitation of prostitution. It focuses on challenging the demand and offering vital support to those exploited:

  • Criminalising buyers by making paying for sexual services a criminal offence, targeting demand to address the core of the exploitation that drives this trade.
  • Repealing Section 46 of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 to repeal the offence of soliciting for the purposes of prostitution and remove previous convictions under this law, making buyers – not the sellers – accountable.
  • Introducing a legal right to support to grant those involved in prostitution a statutory right to access support services, sending a clear message: individuals have nothing to fear from the law but have the right to seek help to escape sexual exploitation and rebuild their lives.

This bill is not about punishing those already vulnerable but about offering them hope and a way out. Everyone deserves the chance to live free from exploitation and harm.

The Scottish Government has committed to establishing a national hub to support individuals involved in prostitution, which will form part of a comprehensive approach to providing tangible alternatives for those trapped in prostitution.

Scotland and the UK are responsible for upholding international human rights law. Since 1949, the global community – including the United Nations and various human rights organisations – has recognised prostitution as a violation of women’s rights.

The UK, as a signatory to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), is obliged to suppress all forms of trafficking and exploitation, including prostitution.

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The United Nations has been unequivocal: prostitution is inherently exploitative, with the Palermo Protocol, established in 2000, further reinforcing the need for countries to act. Scotland now must fulfil its international obligations by passing the Unbuyable Bill into law and leading by example in the global fight against exploitation.

I welcome the support of the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, Reem Alsalem, whose report to the Human Rights Council in June underlines the need for my bill. She says: “Prostitution reduces women and girls to mere commodities and perpetuates a system of discrimination and violence that hinders their ability to achieve true equality.”

I have received overwhelming support and encouragement from colleagues across the Scottish Parliament. I stand on the shoulders of those who have fought this fight before me, including Trish Godman’s 2010 proposal and Rhoda Grant’s 2012 efforts.

However, previous attempts failed to gain the necessary support and did not go far enough. The Unbuyable Bill corrects this by ensuring a comprehensive approach to addressing this complex issue.

With Ireland and Northern Ireland already adopting the Nordic Model – which criminalises buyers and protects those selling sex – alongside Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Canada, and France, Scotland not acting now risks becoming an outlier, especially if Jess Philips takes action in the UK Parliament as she has indicated.

We cannot send the message that Scotland is a soft target for trafficking and exploitation by accepting the dangerous narrative that “sex work is work”. Germany’s experiment with full decriminalisation has failed, and more than 100 women in prostitution have been murdered since their laws changed. Even Germany It is now reconsidering its approach.

The consultation on the bill concluded on September 30 after an 18-day extension. I passed the support threshold to proceed in three days, with backing from members of four political parties., making significant progress towards introducing the bill to Parliament – no small achievement as an MSP in a party of one with a small team – but it This demonstrates the urgency and importance of this issue.

Some 25 years after the re-establishment of the Scottish Parliament, We have an opportunity to take a stand and say that the commercial sexual exploitation of prostitution has no place in Scotland. Together, we can end the commodification of human beings, protect those most at risk, and make Scotland a leader in the global fight against commercial sexual exploitation.

I remain as committed to this cause today as I was when I first entered Parliament. I will continue to work tirelessly to ensure that the Unbuyable Bill becomes law, making Scotland a safer and more just place for everyone.