Members' Business: The International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and Tackling Commercial Sexual Exploitation

That the Parliament recognises that 25 November each year marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women; acknowledges the inclusion of commercial sexual exploitation in the Scottish Government’s definition of violence against women in the paper, Equally Safe, Scotland’s strategy for preventing and eradicating violence against women and girls; considers that prostitution is both a form of such violence and a barrier to gender equality; notes the view that those who purchase sexual services should be held accountable for their part in this violence, and commends the many organisations across Scotland and internationally supporting women to exit prostitution.