LETTER TO MSP.

Trish Goodman a Labour MSP is, as reported previously on this blog, once again trying to push a bill through the Scottish parliament to not only criminalise men who buy sex (note only men) but also to criminalise the seller. What she effectively wants is the criminalisation of consensual sex if ANY payment by any means occurs.
We must fight this bill.
A reader and supporter of Harlots has kindly forwarded this open letter which she would like to share, This letter has been sent to all members of the Scottish Parliament. If everyone could perhaps use this letter as inspiration and send something similar it would help enormously in the campaign to stop Trish Goodman from inflicting so much harm on so many innocent people.

Contact details for SMP .“HERE”.

The author has asked to remain anonymous at present.

The letter reads:

“I am writing with great concern in regard to Trish Godman MSP, Labour for her proposal of a bill for the Criminalisation of the Purchase and Sale of Sex (Scotland) .
Her main aim is to outlaw the act of purchasing sex, with the focus being on the male client and his role in purchasing sex. She wishes to place the male as a criminal when seeking to buy sex. She feels that society is complacent and indifferent to the purchase of sex. She wishes to challenge this complacency within society. Trisha Godman wants to also criminalise the selling of sex. This means that all sex workers will be committing a crime when working, that they will be carrying out an illegal act when having sex.
There is a massive gender war at present among certain feminist groups that are seeking the criminalisation of men purchasing sex and such legislation as is being proposed is part of a this wider anti male legislation that is occurring at present.
In regard to this gender imbalance that is occurring how do you, as an MSP within Scotland feel about the rights of the individual, the rights of a man not to be discriminated by government legislation? Have you thought about the violation of human rights in this matter of the man that is being targeted?
What of the sex worker, male or female? At present sex work is not illegal, and many sex workers do so as a legitimate business, and are registered as self employed. Many sex workers make a pro choice to do this profession. There is this constant stigma pushed forward by the media, extreme feminist groups, and targeted anti-male campaigners that sex work is something which is vile, nasty, associated with drugs or violence. It is not for the majority of sex workers. If sex work occurs due to the need to supply a drug habit, then the issue is that of drugs and not of the sex worker. If violence occurs, then it is an act of violence from a violent individual, and not a consequence of sex work. Sex work does not equal drugs or violence. So why continue to act as if it is so?
Trish Godman would like to see this bill go forward possibly as a reflection of the Swedish model for the criminalisation of sex, however, there is a documented evidence of negative effects experienced since the Swedish law was passed. As can be read in a report by Kulick (2005: 209-210):
“In reality, however, the law has had entirely predictable and deeply negative consequences for street prostitutes, who by all accounts do not number more than 650 to 1,000 in the entire country. These consequences include increased police harassment; reduced power to choose between clients, since they have become scarcer (hence prostitutes tend to find themselves with precisely the violent and unstable clients they would have avoided before);”
I can go on, and I have multiple research papers and articles, and contacts with many organisations that will defend what I have pointed out so briefly.
It is important that the SNP do not back this bill and can I remind you of a statement that I briefly saw on your website in regard to donors
SNP statement “The SNP are proud to be different from the other political parties. We have built a broad base of individual donors who care about Scotland to ensure that we answer to no one but the people.”
So if SNP is as proud, and is as different as I have always been led to believe then I do hope that you will do thorough research into this area and realise that Trish Godman mainly has an anti-male agenda and a dislike of the sex industry of which she clearly has no real idea of what occurs or simply wishes to ignore the facts that she is told.
So do listen to the people, and answer to the people of Scotland on this matter. Do not allow this Bill to go through. If it does go through it will only reflect that Scotland is anti-male and frightened of the pro sex choice workers.”

About Douglas Fox

sex worker activist..

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