NURSES want councils to be allowed to license brothels in an effort to improve the health and safety of sex workers.
The Royal College of Nursing's annual conference will this week hear calls for the issue of licensed brothels to be considered by all UK governments.
Nurses believe many of the physical and mental health problems suffered by sex workers could be a
lleviated if brothels were licensed.
But previous attempts to create "tolerance zones" for prostitutes in Scotland have failed and many remain opposed to legalising the sex industry.
The RCN meeting in Harrogate, which begins today, will hear nurses outline why licensing brothels will benefit both sex workers and their clients.
Stuart McKenzie, a community psychiatric nurse in Glasgow, said he worked with women and men involved in the sex industry.
"These individuals are involved in a very risky industry in terms of their physical health, mental health and safety. They are under the radar of the law so it is a very risky industry. They face dangers from the people who organise it and their customers."
Mr McKenzie told The Scotsman some of his patients suffered post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of being badly beaten or raped, adding: "Licensing would bring it all above the radar and give them that security and safety."
In Scotland, keeping a brothel is a criminal offence, though it is not always strictly enforced, the RCN said. Sex workers can operate from saunas or from private premises. Police operations have focused on private flats where it has been alleged that illegally trafficked women are forced to work against their will.
Mr McKenzie said a regulated system could stop vulnerable men and women entering the industry in the first place.
He added that many sex workers operated of their own free will in the escort industry, earning large sums of money.
"I don't see them," Mr McKenzie said. "I see people plying a trade off street corners through the organised sex industry who present with low self-esteem, having been the victims of physical and sexual abuse, both by customers and their employers. They have potentially been victims their whole life."
Mr McKenzie admitted licensing would have to come with caveats. He said: "Would they be covered by employment law? Would they pay national insurance contributions?"
Mr McKenzie admitted that not every nurse would be comfortable in supporting the idea of licensed brothels. But he added: "A licensed brothel would be better than the situation we have now."
George Lewis, co-chairman of the Scottish Prostitutes Education Project, said he would support proper licensing of brothels by local authorities. "Mental health is an issue that is often forgotten in the industry," he said.
A spokeswoman for the Scottish Government said:
"Our strategy on prostitution aims to raise awareness among the general population to dispel some of the myths and misconceptions associated with prostitution."
PATIENT SAFETY FEARS 'IGNORED'NEARLY two-thirds of nurses in Scotland have raised concerns about patient safety with their bosses – but more than one in three say no action was ever taken.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Scotland also said almost a quarter of the 571 Scottish nurses surveyed (24 per cent) were discouraged or told directly not to report concerns at their workplace. Only 43 per cent felt confident a health board or employer would protect them if they spoke up.
A Scottish Government spokes-woman said: "NHS Scotland and the government have developed a range of policies to encourage employees to raise concerns without fear of penalty or victimisation."
"We want to do all we can to prevent individuals from becoming involved and to support those already involved to develop routes out – but legislation and enforcement are just part of the solution."
