Scottish Coalition Against Sexual Exploitation

The Coalition Against Sexual Exploitation:

• works to raise awareness of the harm caused to women through prostitution and other forms of commercial sexual exploitation, including stripping, lap dancing, pornography, sex tourism, mail order brides, and trafficking for the purposes of prostitution.
• campaigns for legislative change necessary to reduce the harm caused through prostitution and other forms of sexual exploitation, remove current gender inequality in the law, challenge the behaviour of men who buy sexual services

The Coalition takes the view that prostitution and other forms of sexual exploitation are part of a spectrum of men's violence against women and children, which includes incest, rape, sexual harassment and domestic violence. There are clear links between issues such as childhood experiences of abuse and neglect, domestic violence, poverty, homelessness, addiction, and women's involvement in prostitution.

We oppose efforts to categorise prostitution as 'sex work'. Legislation or legitimising the activity will not remove the harm caused but would simply legitimise that harm. We do not view prostitution as a choice for women, irrespective of age, and believe that it is contradictory to condemn child prostitution whilst condoning or ignoring adult prostitution. Neither do we recognise the false distinctions between forced prostitution and so-called 'free' prostitution. All prostitution is exploitative of the person prostituted, regardless of the context, or of whether that person is said to have consented to the prostitution. Sexual exploitation eroticizes women's inequality and is a vehicle for racism: black women, minority ethnic women and indigenous women suffer disproportionately.

Scottish Coalition Against Sexual Exploitation
c/o Women's Support Project
31 Stockwell Street
Glasgow
G1 4RZ
0141 552 2221
jan@wsproject.demon.co.uk

or

c/o Rape Crisis Scotland
1st Floor
Central Chambers
Glasgow
G2 6LD
0141 248 8848
info@rapecrisisscotland.org.uk

Scottish Coalition Against Sexual Exploitation Membership Form