Fownhope’s Heart of Oak Society traces its roots to the age of friendly societies, when communities provided their own safety net. Its anniversary celebrations reveal a tradition still very much alive, says MARK SEDDON
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Full decriminalisation of prostitution colludes with the notion that a woman’s consent is negotiable
When HARRIET EVANS fell into difficulties with her housing, and universal credit was too little to live on, she turned to prostitution as a way of keeping a roof over her head. Here she explains how the Nordic model could have helped her and others in the sex industry
A poster from a campaign calling for the purchase of sex to be criminalised, Glasgow, 2009
ANGUS REID explains the significance of Cuba’s egalitarian in letter and spirit Family Code and the pertinent lessons it holds for democracies anywhere in the world
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NICK WRIGHT considers how the isolation of Israel and a new film on the controversial Italian communist leader are creating new reference points for Italy’s left
CARLOS MARTINEZ says Cuba’s achievements in the face of a criminal blockade are startling, but the island’s future if the United States succeeds in crushing it looks bleak
AMNON BROWNFIELD STEIN reports that far-right MPs who mobbed the event organised by Hadash may have helped raise awareness of the brutality of the Israeli right
“SEX workers across the world are demanding decriminalisation” — a claim made by article after article in the media recently.
I want to point out: not all “sex workers.” Some of us support the Nordic model — a model pioneered by Sweden in 1999, when it became the first country to introduce a law making it illegal to pay for sex, but not to be a prostitute.
This is also known as the “Sex Buyer Law.” Northern Ireland was the first part of the UK to adopt the Sex Buyer Law in June 2015; a law under which clients can be prosecuted, but prostitution itself is decriminalised.
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Susan Galloway talks to ASH REGAN MSP about her “Unbuyable” Bill, seeking to tackle the commercial sexual exploitation of women in Scotland