https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/emma-caldwell-case-followed-shocking-32301038
'Sex workers are facing horrific levels of violence according to a shocking new survey raising fears that Emma Caldwell’s murder could be repeated.
The study among prostitutes in Glasgow found that 80 per cent had been subjected to a violent assault by men using them for sex. And six per cent of the women surveyed had been a victim of an attempted murder by a punter.
Today as Scotland marks International Women’s Day campaigners are demanding action to crackdown on men who attack women in the sex industry. Linda Thompson, National Coordinator Women’s Support Project, said the survey showed the daily dangers faced by women in prostitution and a failure to tackle the problem.'
She said: “Nineteen years after Emma’s murder, the violence against women involved in prostitution remains high. Another murder like Emma’s is inevitable.
“Most of these crimes are not even reported to the police meaning there are men out there not being held accountable for violence and who are free to carry on harming women again and again. All women. Any one of the attempted murders noted in the survey could have been another Emma.”
The snapshot survey from Encompass Network, a coalition of seven Scottish services supporting women involved in prostitution, questioned 53 women seeking help across one week. Linda said the report gave a disturbing reflection of the brutal realities across the industry and shows that commercial sexual exploitation is never “safe”.'
Crimes against the women included physical attack, sexual assault, rape, harassment, robbery, stalking and attempted murder. The survey also gives a devastating insight into the vulnerability of women who sell sex.
Linda said: “We normalise this as sex work, it is not work, it is exploitation.” Those surveyed were involved across the sex industry from on-street prostitution to webcamming and selling sex in brothels.
Six of the women in the survey had been trafficked from overseas to work in Scotland’s sex-for-sale trade. A quarter were under 18 when they were first involved in selling or exchanging sex.
80% of prostitutes suffer violent assaults by men using them for sexThree quarters said they were selling sex or exchanging it for rent because they were struggling to survive, an issue compounded by the soaring cost of living crisis. Linda said: “We are a country aspiring to have gender equality yet it is being accepted women will do this to survive.”
A third had been in care, a quarter had suffered child sex abuse, two thirds domestic abuse, three had learning disabilities and 90 per cent reported mental health issues.
Eight of the women had attempted suicide while 14 had contemplated it. Nineteen of the women had a physical disability and the trauma of being involved in prostitution had also triggered chronic conditions like fibromyalgia, which causes pain throughout the body.
Linda said: “The harm these women suffer stays with them throughout their lives. It is not acceptable in 2024 that men can use resources, whether that is drugs, money, food or a roof over your head, to gain access to women’s bodies.”
'Despite the Scottish Government declaring prostitution to be violence against women, any attempts to criminalise the purchase of sex have been thwarted in parliament. Women can still be criminalised for involvement in the sex industry and a tenth of the those surveyed had convictions for prostitution-related offences.
Encompass and other campaigners are calling for Scotland to criminalise purchasing sex, as has happened in countries such as Sweden, Canada, Iceland and Ireland. Studies have shown making the purchase of sex illegal can reduce demand, change cultural attitudes and disrupt the operation of sex-traffickers.'
I've copied virtually the full article here because I think it's important.
RIP Emma, and thoughts with all women in Scotland at risk from exploitation and abuse.