An arts festival in Scotland has been roundly criticised for including a pornography workshop in its programme.
The event, to be held next week, has been criticised by a Labour MSP and a spokesperson from the Scottish Coalition Against Sexual Exploitation (SCASE), who have both questioned why funding has been given for such a ‘violent’ activity.
Funding for the Scottish Queer International Film Festival (SQIFF) was allocated by Government agency Creative Scotland, which receives over £44 million from the Scottish Government.
Pornography
Rhoda Grant MSP, criticised the workshop and questioned the allocation of funding by Creative Scotland.
She said: “I’m a little puzzled as to why Creative Scotland are funding this.
“If the Government are clear that sexual exploitation and pornography are linked to violence against women why is the public purse funding it?”
Violence against women
The SCASE have also raised concerns that the workshop normalises pornography.
A spokeswoman said it was important “that it’s not seen as something that is harmless, because in our experience it’s not. It’s a form of violence against women and contributes to it.”
Creative Scotland provided financial support to the festival. But a spokeswoman has said it supported “the festival’s purpose and ethos and, as with every organisation we fund, we do not get involved in programming decisions.”