Calls for the government to address demand for prostitution
The MP for Edinburgh North and Leith, Tracy Gilbert today led a parliamentary debate on Tuesday in Westminster Hall calling for urgent government action to address the demand driving prostitution and sex trafficking in the UK.
Ms Gilbert said that the debate, 'That this House has considered the matter of tackling demand for prostitution and sex trafficking', focused on the urgent need to adopt a demand-reduction approach to tackle the exploitation of women and girls who are coerced, trafficked, or driven by poverty into the sex trade.
Her speech highlighted the issue in Edinburgh, and some of the vulnerable women who have been affected by it, including Fiona Broadfoot who has spoken out about her treatment whilst working in an Edinburgh brothel.
Tracy Gilbert said: 'In Edinburgh over the weekend (7 –8 June 2025), 142 women were being advertised for prostitution on one pimping website alone. Five of the top ten adverts are explicitly posted by so-called 'agencies' – so the site isn't even trying to hide the organised nature of this exploitation.'
She outlined that current legislation fails to effectively deter those who purchase sex and called on the Government to explore legislative models that criminalise the buying, not the selling, of sex, as adopted in countries such as Sweden and Norway, and she gave examples of reviews made after the buying of sex including the following:
'Bad attitude. Everything was off limits.'
'Finally got her to lay there but it's like shagging a dead fish.'
'No smile, her atrocious English made the interactions even more impossible.'
Tracy added: 'Men who buy sex are reviewing women as if they are reviewing an Xbox game. These comments prove that men who pay for sex treat women as subordinate sex objects whose role is to service their sexual desires.'
Watch the debate online here: https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/04426796-9b75-4c56-bffb-490eb1bbeb85
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