In 2017 Ireland passed a law fought for by NGOs founded by religious orders with a recent history of enslavement and human trafficking.
A thread: irishexaminer.com/news/munster/a…
A thread: irishexaminer.com/news/munster/a…
The law criminalized the purchase of anything deemed to be sexual services.
Senior gardaí in charge of trafficking told us all intel disappeared after that date both from clients and sex workers, two groups best positioned to report suspicious activity.
All national resources were redirected toward sex trafficking although most trafficking is in fishing, agriculture, domestic labour, manufacturing and construction. This money mostly went towards paying salaries and overhead for the NGOs that fought for these laws.
Ireland dropped from Tier 1 almost to the bottom of the Trafficking In Persons report in this time.
Because no law works in isolation, gardaí pushed by these NGOs increased evictions and continued to use condoms as evidence of engagement in sex work against the advice of WHO, UNAIDS and Amnesty International.
Undocumented sex workers are afraid to carry condoms under these circumstances. Clients of sex workers, emboldened by recent changes to the law that leave sex workers increasingly vulnerable are demanding unprotected sex and stealthing workers.
Coupled with our catholic sex education this has lead to the highest HIV rates in our history.
Violence has increased against workers by 92% and trust in gardaí is down to below 1%.
Violence has increased against workers by 92% and trust in gardaí is down to below 1%.
Senior Gardaí recently informed us that not only will they not stop evictions of sex workers including single mothers, they have secured funding to hire an additional 75 officers to increase evictions.
Meanwhile Ireland is battling its worst housing crisis and highest homelessness numbers in recent memory.
Workers are afraid to work together for safety for fear of being arrested. In June 2019 two young women were sentenced to 9 months in prison solely for the crime of working together for safety like Gardaí do.
When we at SWAI sought assistance from the government to help those not able to access COVID payments we were refused and were forced to turn to crowdfunding instead.
Many find themselves having to rely on sex work to survive, such as Ireland’s direct provision residents not allowed to work and expected to survive on €38 a week.
Trans women such as myself find it almost impossible to access alternative employment due to prejudice and discrimination.
Single mothers, college students, foreign students that are only allowed work 20 hours a week.
Single mothers, college students, foreign students that are only allowed work 20 hours a week.
The way to reduce the numbers of those in sex work is to tackle the reasons people go into sex work such as poverty, inequality and discrimination. The way to tackle trafficking is by addressing migration laws in addition to poverty, inequality and discrimination.
Ireland has the money to do what’s right but throws it away on religious NGOs and for profit organizations such as Aramark, leaving the vulnerable in peril.
The department of Justice has increased the deadline for submissions until September 11th.
If anyone would like to write a submission to encourage the government to do what’s right rather than following the guidance of religious orders with a recent history of enslavement and human trafficking it would be greatly appreciated.
If anyone needs pointed toward evidence or citations or further information please feel free to contact me. If you would like to submit anonymously I am happy to send your submission in for you.
Submissions are particularly welcome from sex workers anywhere in the world, but submissions from any concerned citizen are more than welcome.
s7areview@justice.ie
s7areview@justice.ie
