Online sex trafficking: alarm raised in Scottish Parliament

Posted on 21.09.26

Sex trafficking in Scotland is being fuelled by illegal websites: that was the message from an event co-organised by UK Feminista in the Scottish Parliament on 17 September 2026.

In Scotland, trading in the prostitution of another person is a crime under Part 1, Section 11 of the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995 – online and offline. Yet websites advertising prostitution – long recognised as key facilitators of sex trafficking – operate openly in Scotland. In addition, facilitating the transportation of a person for exploitation constitutes human trafficking – punishable with life imprisonment. Under the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015, exploitation includes aiding, abetting or compelling prostitution.

Speakers at the Scottish Parliament highlighted how websites advertising prostitution in Scotland are contravening these laws – and called on Scotland’s criminal justice system to hold the operators to account and deliver justice to victims.

Scottish Parliament event speakers

The powerful event was hosted by Carol Mochan MSP, with talks by: Tracy Gilbert MP, Vice Chair of the APPG on Commercial Sexual Exploitation; Diane Martin CBE, Chair of A Model For Scotland; Eleanor Lyons, Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner; and Kat Banyard, head of UK Feminista’s commercial sexual exploitation programme and doctoral researcher at Durham University on the role of websites advertising prostitution in the sex trafficking trade.

 

Further reading about online sex trafficking in Scotland

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