A Labour MP calling for the closure of online “mega-brothels” has accused First Minister of ignoring ‘industrial-scale sex trafficking‘ across Scotland.
Edinburgh North and Leith MP Tracy Gilbert has demanded “pimping websites” – openly operating in Scotland – should be shut down.
She wrote to John Swinney last month calling on the Scottish Government to clamp down on the adult sites and meet with her to discuss support for victims.
But nearly a month later, Gilbert says she has yet to receive a reply.
She said: “I am disappointed that nearly a month on, I have had no response from the First Minister.
If the Scottish Government are serious about tackling violence against women and girls, then it must take all action possible to clamp down on these pimping websites.”
In the letter, seen by the Daily Record, Gilbert urged Swinney to intervene against websites advertising prostitution, claiming they were “perpetrating the biggest sex trafficking operation in modern Scottish history”.
She wrote: “The Scottish Government must act now to shut down this organised criminality and stop industrial-scale sex trafficking across Scotland.”
View 4 ImagesTracy Gilbert MP(Image: Labour)
In April she urged Police Scotland to open a criminal investigation into the operators of adult services websites including AdultWork and Vivastreet.
Raising the issue during a Westminster Hall debate, she argued the way adverts are structured—such as categorising individuals based on “outcall” services where they travel to buyers – shows the platforms are directly facilitating the movement of people for prostitution.
The Labour MP also told Swinney that the operators of websites advertising sexual services are breaching Scotland’s Human Trafficking and Exploitation Act 2015.
View 4 ImagesAdultwork.com was one of the websites Gilbert called for a probe into.
She told MPs she believes the companies operating the websites are violating the Scotland’s Human Trafficking and Exploitation Act 2015, and argued their conduct warrants an immediate police investigation.
A report from the UK’s Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner in February found nearly 63,000 listings of women across 12 websites at a single point in time.
In just one month, the same websites received almost 41.7 million visits. It also described the adult services sites as a ready-made tool for abuse.
View 4 ImagesAsh Regan MSP and her proposed prostitution bill.
It comes after MSPs refused to support Ash Regan’s Unbuyable Bill which would have made it illegal to buy sex while supporting people in prostitution in February.
A spokesperson for the First Minister said: An AdultWork spokesperson previously said: “AdultWork.com is a legitimate online platform where sexual exploitation is not tolerated in any form.”
The company said it has strict internal policies in place, cooperates with law enforcement requests and proactively reports suspected trafficking.
Vivastreet has previously said it takes safety “extremely seriously”, requiring age and ID verification for adult advertisers and referring suspicious content to national policing units and the National Crime Agency when appropriate.
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Justice Secretary Neil Gray said: “Commercial sexual exploitation, whether committed online or offline, is a form of violence against women. as powers to regulate the internet are reserved, we would back any person urging the UK government to take action in this area.
“We will continue to work with Police Scotland and partners to support victims, raise awareness of exploitation and tackle online harm.”
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