Ash Regan MSP Lodges Unbuyable Bill in Scottish Parliament to Challenge Demand for Commercial Sexual Exploitation
Ash Regan MSP has today [Tuesday 20 May] formally lodged her Prostitution (Offences and Support) (Scotland) Bill—known as the Unbuyable Bill—in the Scottish Parliament.
The Bill proposes a bold and long-overdue step towards ending the commercial sexual exploitation of women and girls in Scotland. It will criminalise the purchase of sex, repeal outdated offences that target the seller, quash historic convictions, and create a statutory right to support for those in and exiting prostitution.
Speaking ahead of the Bill's formal introduction, Alba Party’s Ash Regan MSP said:
"Prostitution is not a job like any other, as some lobby groups claim; it is a system of commercial sexual exploitation that targets the vulnerable, is driven by demand and is enabled by silence. Commodifying human beings has consequences - it's time we reframe the shame.
"Today, I am proud to bring commercial sexual exploitation out of the shadows into a debate across Scotland, by formally lodging the Unbuyable Bill in Parliament. Unbuyable is the first key step in tackling attitudes that have shamefully normalised inequality of the sexes and underpinned the scourge of male violence against women
"It is a Bill forged by those who have survived the system of exploitation, for their own recovery and for those still trapped inside or vulnerable to such exploitation. It recognises what so many are afraid to say: that buying sexual access to a human being is a form of male violence.
"We must reframe shame. It does not belong to exploited women and men—it belongs to the men who buy them."
"The Bill aligns with the Nordic Model— adopted in countries such as Sweden, Norway, France, and Ireland—and marks a departure from the failed approach of decriminalising the sex trade, without addressing the root cause and consequences of commodifying human beings: demand."
Regan continued:
"On-street prostitution has been criminalised for 17 years in Scotland yet none of the pimp lobby's predictions have materialised, few convictions of buyers have been made in over the last ten years and critically the demand has not diminished - it has just moved off street.
"Scotland faces a choice. Do we continue with piecemeal initiatives to reduce harm from visible prostitution, with fragile support funding for those exploited, or will we confront the injustice of commercial sexual exploitation head-on?
"Sweden was the first to adopt what we now know as the Nordic Model twenty-five years ago, so it is the same age as our Scottish devolved Parliament. The Scottish Government and COSLA's Equally Safe strategy explicitly recognise prostitution as a form of violence against women and girls (VAWG), framing prostitution within the broader context of gender inequality and male entitlement and identifying it as a manifestation of systemic abuse. The UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and Girls, Reem Alsalem, has explicitly recognised prostitution as a form of violence against women and girls, with her 2024 report to the UN Human Rights Council stating that prostitution is intrinsically linked to various forms of violence and constitutes a violation of human rights.
"If Scotland is ready to stand up for women's human rights and dignity, we must legislate, and to do that, my Unbuyable Bill needs public support. I have been overwhelmed by the support and encouragement from frontline services, women's support groups and many others across Scotland and beyond, but that won't be enough. I'm calling on every Scot who believes women are not for sale to join the campaign and make their voices heard.
"No one is unbuyable—until the law clearly says so."
The Unbuyable Bill has already received cross-party support and will be formally published by the Scottish Parliament this week. Ash Regan has pledged to continue working with survivors, frontline services, and international experts to ensure the legislation is effective, compassionate, and enforceable.
