We use cookies to collect anonymous data to help us improve your site browsing experience. Click 'Accept all cookies' to agree to all cookies that collect anonymous data. To only allow the cookies that make the site work, click 'Use essential cookies only. Your cookie preferences have been saved. You can change your cookie settings at any time. Help improve gov. Fill in a short survey. Introduction []. This report constitutes a desk-based review of published research and evidence on prostitution in Scotland.
It should be read alongside the report from researchers within the Scottish Government's Justice Analytical Services JAS who were tasked with exploring and summarising existing evidence on the nature and scale of prostitution in Scotland. This report is intended to provide a contextual background to the JAS study, which is based on interviews and intelligence gathering from key informants including police, local authorities and the third sector.
It is important to note that this review does not purport to provide a comprehensive and definitive account of the evidence on prostitution, but rather, constitutes a collation of the material which could be identified and accessed within a relatively short space of time.
Furthermore, due to the limited focus on considering existing evidence from research carried out in Scotland, international comparative analysis was not undertaken. This report examines existing evidence on prostitution in Scotland but acknowledges the challenges of conducting research in this area, given the 'hidden' nature of this phenomenon and the ideological positions that often determine methodological priorities as well as dissemination and publication opportunities. Data produced are frequently subject to challenge or viewed as partial and subjective.
This report adopts a working definition which is focused on the sale and purchase of sex rather than sex-related activities such as lap-dancing, pornography etc. Terminology in this area is contested; however the Scottish Government has used the term 'prostitution' in other contexts and this report does the same. While 'sex work' is used by some academics and support organisations, the sale of sex is subject to dispute as a form of employment.
