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Porcelain Victoria, a 26-year-old sex worker, has been engaged in the profession for eight years. She appreciates the flexibility her self-employed status affords her, especially as it allows her to manage her working hours around childcare. Reflecting on her work, she says, “I very much enjoy how freeing it is and, of course, bringing a smile to my client’s faces.” She compares her role to other customer service jobs where the aim is to please clients, whether one is a chef, plumber, or shop assistant. Victoria began selling sex at 18 as a means to escape an abusive home, and she plans to continue in the profession well into her older years. Her goal is eventually to semi-retire and become a counsellor specializing in kinks and fetishes.
However, Victoria expresses serious worries about a proposed legal change in Scotland that could harm sex workers’ livelihoods. Independent MSP Ash Regan has introduced legislation that would criminalize paying for sexual services, following what is known as the Nordic model, first established in Sweden. While current Scottish law allows the buying and selling of sex, some related activities such as soliciting, kerb-crawling, and brothel-keeping are prohibited. Regan’s bill seeks to make buying sex illegal, while keeping selling it legal, and aims to provide sex workers with statutory support and expunge past soliciting convictions, though brothel laws would remain unchanged.
This legislative proposal has sparked debate. Porcelain Victoria, who works in Fife, argues that criminalizing clients would reduce the number of people willing to pay for services, pushing sex workers into financial hardship. She says, “There’s going to be less clients that want to actually come up to us and see us and pay us,” adding that a standard nine-to-five job would not cover her expenses. Another sex worker, who uses the pseudonym Amelia and operates in Edinburgh, shares Victoria’s concerns. Amelia entered sex work six years ago after struggling with long, exhausting shifts in hospitality and feeling undervalued at her job. She started out with online platforms before moving into in-person work. Contrary to Regan’s belief that the Nordic model would reduce violence against women, Amelia warns it may only deter “good” clients, while violent ones—who are already breaking the law—would remain a threat. She explains the importance of knowing clients’ details for safety reasons: “If I can’t get my client’s name, age, number, basic stuff like that I won’t feel safe at work.”
Regan has dismissed the fears that her legislation might endanger sex workers, calling such concerns “complete nonsense.” She argues that currently the power dynamic favours the client, who can exploit vulnerabilities by threatening to report the worker to police. The Nordic model, she states, would shift that balance, empowering sex workers to refuse unsafe requests and report abusive clients. Beyond Victoria and Amelia, some former sex workers and those who support them back Regan’s bill. Bronagh Andrew, operations manager of Tara (Trafficking Awareness Raising Alliance), a charity helping survivors of trafficking, endorses the legislation based on their growing experience. Tara has seen a significant rise in the number of trafficked women they support, assisting 124 women between April and September of this year, including 43 newly identified cases.
Andrew underscores the vulnerability of these women, noting that trafficking victims often face severe disorientation, language barriers, and trauma. For example, one young woman was so disoriented she thought she was in Toronto when she was actually in Glasgow. While the Scottish government has expressed strong support for criminalizing the purchase of sex, it has raised “significant concerns” about Regan’s specific bill, calling for substantial amendments. Given these issues, it seems unlikely the bill will pass before the upcoming parliamentary election. This ongoing debate reveals a complex divide: all parties aim to improve the lives of women involved in the sex trade, but they hold very different views on how best to achieve this goal
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
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