The Scottish government’s strategy to support women working in the sex industry has been cast into disarray after it was forced to ditch a proposed partnership with a charity whose founder has suggested most sex workers have had exposure to “occult” activities, citing yoga as one example.
The Scottish government abandoned plans to partner with the Luton-based Christian charity Azalea, which offers “practical, emotional and spiritual support to women sexually exploited through prostitution”, after a backlash from the violence against women sector.
The creation of a national network of “commercial sexual exploitation hubs” was announced in February as part of Scottish government plans to “support women to safely exit from prostitution and challenge men’s demand for prostitution”.
Recently published freedom of information responses reveal that the Scottish government suggested Azalea, which also offers mentoring for men “to significantly reduce their purchasing of sex”, as a potential partner to councils piloting these hubs, a proposal ultimately rejected by Glasgow city council as “dangerous” and “at odds with [our] entire approach to tackling prostitution”.
The documents, published by the sex workers’ organisation NUM, also reference a handbook for “Christians involved in outreach to prostitutes”, written by an Azalea co-founder, Ruth Robb. It says: “Most prostitutes have had some exposure to the occult in childhood … others may have learnt about tarot cards and Ouija boards in prison,” and it offers a checklist of “examples of occult activity” that includes yoga and playing Dungeons & Dragons.
Separately, sources close to the discussions have described to the Guardian “very heated” debate about the Azalea proposal and “huge questions about accountability, consultation and where women’s voices are coming through”.
While welcoming the concept of support hubs in principle, some expressed frustration at a failure to draw on their specialist expertise while developing the plans, as well as a “lack of clear answers” from the Scottish government about next steps.
The Scottish government said Azalea’s methods were explored as one of “a range of options” and confirmed it was “not in partnership with Azalea, we have not instructed any councils to partner with them and they are not involved in any hub pilot”.
It said the hubs plan remained in development and that an initial phase of work to challenge demand and improve support for women was happening “through a package of work with Police Scotland”.
Groups who support sex workers say the strategy is a mess. They have serious concerns about the government’s shift in focus back to policing, less than nine months after the conviction of Iain Packer – who was jailed in February for Emma Caldwell’s murder – exposed chronic police failings as well as the horrific levels of violence still faced by women selling sex and which many are unwilling to report.
Sue Waddington, the gender-based violence services manager for the community justice organisation Sacro, said: “It’s difficult for any woman to go to the police to talk about a sexual crime against them, but especially for women involved in commercial sexual exploitation. We have done training with the police which has added a layer of sensitivity, and the women we support are more comfortable than they used to be in reporting a crime, but it is still a work in progress.”
Another source asked: “What message does that send to women involved in the sex industry, when we know more needs to be done on police attitudes and that women are still reluctant to come forward to law enforcement.”
The NUM chief executive, Raven Bowen, said the current strategy was a mess. The Scottish National party government wants to adopt the Nordic model of criminalising the buying of sex, which is opposed by organisations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch who call for the decriminalisation of sex work, as does Bowen.
She said: “We do welcome engagement with Police Scotland, but the simple fact is that making the police the central focus of delivering sex work policy is utterly pointless and doomed to fail.
“It is a social issue that can only be addressed by directing resources towards providing men and women who carry out sex work with state support and defending their rights, as opposed to seeking to de-facto criminalise their activities through outlawing their clients and pushing them into the shadows.”
Azalea’s patron Dr Elaine Storkey said its work was “completely non-judgmental and based on sound, science-backed principles”. She said: “The quotes used have been taken entirely out of context from a book written 22 years ago.”
Storkey said: “The key debate is between those who see sex work as something chosen by women and those who regard sex workers as exploited”.
While Azalea’s sympathies were with the Nordic model, she said, “we recognise, along with many feminist activists in this area, that we are up against entrenched interests and powerful male lobbies”.
