Vivastreet Glasgow has come under increasing pressure to clean up its act in Scotland. Since early 2019, when a senior manager at Vivastreet visited Glasgow for talks with campaigners over trafficking claims, there has been a groundswell of opinion around the Vivastreet Glasgow and broader Scotland Vivastreet operation.
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Research uncovers trafficking
The Daily Record (Silvester, 2019) reported in their Sunday Mail newspaper (owned by Reach Plc) that their investigation had found four girls with poor English who they suspected of being trafficked were operating under the same account advertised on Vivastreet Glasgow.
In 2019, groups that support abused women held a meeting with Vivastreet invited. A classified ads site representative met Scottish campaigners and the Glasgow Violence Against Women Partnership (GVAWP).
What are classified ads?
Classified advertising is a form of advertising which is particularly common in newspapers, online and other periodicals which may be sold or distributed free of charge. Classified advertisements are much cheaper than larger display advertisements used by businesses, although display advertising is more widespread. They were also commonly called “want” ads, starting in 1763. (Classified advertising, n.d.)
Concerning Scotland trends
A worrying increase in trafficked sex workers is a considerable concern. Sex Trafficking Awareness Raising Alliance (TARA) has seen a 42% rise in the number of women looking for help from their team. This trend is corroborated by the National Crime Agency (NCA), which reported increased men and women trafficked for cheap labour into Scotland.
However, during the Coronavirus pandemic, there has been a marked decline in the industry. This will have a detrimental impact not only on genuine escorts in Glasgow and Scotland but on the sex trafficking of girls.
Labour MSP Rhoda Grant has raised serious concerns over the exploitation of women and was reported in the same Daily Record article as saying, “People may wish to boycott Vivastreet until it stops advertising commercial sexual exploitation.”
The Daily Record went undercover. Masquerading as a customer, their reporter visited one woman who spoke little English. The newspaper handed our files to the police, who are investigating.
What is Human Trafficking?
Trafficking in persons is a serious crime and a grave violation of human rights. Every year, thousands of men, women, and children fall into the hands of traffickers, in their own countries and abroad. (martin.margesin, n.d.)
Legalisation no answer
Of course, some people might say that if prostitution were illegal, the number of trafficked humans would fall dramatically. Research (Dreyer, Neumayer, & Seo-Young, 2013) investigated the impact of legalised prostitution on this very subject. Looking at it from economic theory, they identified two opposing effects.
Effect A: The scale effect of legalised prostitution leads to an expansion of the prostitution market, increasing human trafficking
Effect B: A substitution effect reduces demand for trafficked women as legal prostitutes are favoured over trafficked ones.
Their analysis for a cross-section of up to 150 countries showed that the scale effect (Effect A) dominated the substitution effect (Effect B). Consequently, where prostitution is legal, there is likely to be a larger reported human trafficking problem.
UK Adult Zone
At UK Adult Zone, we continue to implement stringent measures to support advertisers and those that provide a service to the people of Scotland. As well as providing pointers to where you can get help, support and advice, we have a range of tools to help service providers.
Where to get help and support
If you are working in Glasgow or any other part of Scotland, you can find help, advice and support from various organisations. We have listed some here to get you started.
Scotland escorts Click is an essential service we wanted to share with escorts in Scotland. CLiCK is a service supporting women’s safety and well-being who sell or exchange sex online in Scotland. We understand that coronavirus is having a severe impact on women’s lives – and we’re here to help.
The Click website provides you with access to online live chat and one to one support (via phone, text, or WhatsApp). There are friendly and knowledgeable CLiCK Women’s Workers who can provide advice. This includes help and advice around money, housing, safety, emotional support, and advocacy to other services.
Their resource hub provides support and advice on accessing financial aid and provides information on what support services are available in your local area. You can also share what your urgent needs are right now to shape the Scottish Government’s response to coronavirus via our Your Voice platform. Visit Click for more information and support—click Website.
If you are an escort in Scotland, this article has been written for you. UK Adult Zone has the safety and support of the people that advertise services at the core of our values. With our Punter Check feature to help you identify clients to avoid, we go the extra mile to help you stay safe.
In this article, I wanted to share some information on where you could get support if you are working in Scotland. There are several charities and bodies available that can provide you with advice and support.
Here are just a few in Scotland.
SCOT-PEP
SCOT-PEP is a registered charity dedicated to promoting sex workers’ rights, safety, and health. The organisation is a member of the Global Network of Sex Work Projects, the International Committee on the Rights of Sex Workers in Europe (ICRSE) and the UK Network of Sex Work Projects (UKNSWP). The SCOT-PEP primary focus is on Scotland and has developed a sex workers toolkit that is very impressive.
They say on their website, “The Workbook came about when SCOT-PEP became aware that our funding was under threat, and that our days as a service provider to sex workers in the City of Edinburgh were numbered. We had in the past developed several resources to distribute in printed format – see, for example, our safety handbook Protect Yourself, and was in the process of developing a sexual health resource. When we realised that we would be transitioning from an active service provider with seven members of staff and dozens of experienced volunteers to a largely voluntary workforce and that the services that were “replacing” us were either short-term or narrowly focused, we decided to attempt to distil our 20 years of experience of the streets, saunas, flats and escorts of Edinburgh into an online resource.” You can find out more from SCOT-PEP on their website.
Umbrella Lane
Umbrella Lane can be found in a small discreet office in Glasgow city centre. You can come and chat through issues concerning work and life with a volunteer. You can also get free condoms and lubricants. After an initial meeting with an Umbrella Lane volunteer (always a current or former worker), they can help put you in touch with supportive partners. The partner’s Umbrella Lane work with are committed to providing sex workers with a non-judgemental service. They can include the Terrence Higgins Trust, the Ethnic Minority Legal Centre (EMLC), WestGAP, and many more. You can find out more from the Umbreall Lane website.
Sacro
Sacro is a Scottish community justice organisation. Sacro creates safer and more cohesive communities across Scotland. They provide a range of services—these range from conflict resolution to prevent disputes escalating to supporting prisoners on release. Sacro services are designed to create safe and cohesive communities by reducing conflict and offending. The organisation works with a broad range of people, including those harmed by crime and those responsible for that harm. You can find out more about Sacro on their website.
Growing support services in Scotland
As I find out more about the services available for you in Scotland, I will endeavour to update this page. In the meantime, I wish you well. And remember, if you have any problems, questions or concerns with the UK Adult Zone website, get in touch.
References
Classified advertising. (n.d.). Retrieved 10 19, 2020, from Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classified_advertising
Dreyer, A., Neumayer, E., & Seo-Young, C. (2013). Does Legalized Prostitution Increase Human Trafficking. World Development, 41. Retrieved 10 19, 2020, from https://sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/s0305750x12001453
martin. margin. (n.d.). What is Human Trafficking? Retrieved 10 19, 2020, from http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/what-is-human-trafficking.html
Silvester, N. (2019, May 26). Sex ad website Vivastreet boss in talks with campaigners over trafficking claims. Retrieved from Daily Record: https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/sex-ad-website-vivastreet-boss-16199558
Tara Scotland, Retrieved 10 19, 20250, https://www.tarascotland.org.uk/
