n/a

Equally Safe

Simon Barrow

Abstract

In September 2020, the Scottish Government launched 'Equally Safe', a consultation on its current policy and approach to prostitution / sex work, which is based on the philosophy and assumptions of the so-called Nordic model. This is a response from Ekklesia's director, outlining serious concerns about this approach, particularly in relation to women's safety and agency.

The position advocated in this response is that - in terms of reducing the threat of violence, abuse and exploitation faced by women - decriminalisation (accompanied by the extension of Universal Basic Income (UBI) and Universal Basic Services (UBS) and other empowerment measures) is the way forward. Evidence suggests that criminalisation leads to increased danger for women, and further reduces their agency and the possibility of making different choices.

Read the full response here: http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/sites/ekklesia.co.uk/files/equally_safe.pdf (*.PDF/Adobe Acrobat file)