Thanks Mia.
So despite having horrible experiences yourself, you have become a professional shill for Irish elite and Magdalene orders to ensure everyone else engaged in sex work also has horrific experiences.
A long thread:
thejournal.ie/readme/sex-tra…
1/61
So despite having horrible experiences yourself, you have become a professional shill for Irish elite and Magdalene orders to ensure everyone else engaged in sex work also has horrific experiences.
A long thread:
thejournal.ie/readme/sex-tra…
1/61
“Mia de Faoite documents the horror and abuse that come with prostitution and trafficking and says society must not forget these women”
So… a heavily funded carceral campaign by wealthy white women & the nuns that ran the Magdalene asylums then?
2/61
So… a heavily funded carceral campaign by wealthy white women & the nuns that ran the Magdalene asylums then?
2/61
There’s a pattern with Ruhama nonsense.
A repetitive bait and switch.
You’ll see it throughout this article.
A). Mention supports that are needed to exit SW
B). But instead promote policing, eviction, jailing and deportation
3/61
A repetitive bait and switch.
You’ll see it throughout this article.
A). Mention supports that are needed to exit SW
B). But instead promote policing, eviction, jailing and deportation
3/61
This photo could be also be used to accompany the story of women evicted, jailed and deported under the laws that Mia is paid to promote.
4/61
4/61
“You don’t know anyone, you don’t speak the language and the only experience you have is one of violence and threats of violence; sexual, physical and psychological violence used by pimps, traffickers and the men who buy sexual access to your body every day and night.”
5/61
5/61
Mia, NWCI & the orders want to make sure that this scenario is followed by the horrors of a garda raid, jailing and deportation so they have to find someone to traffic them all over again to escape whatever they were attempting to flee.
6/61
6/61
“This brutal scenario is unfortunately the reality for many women in the sex trade.”
I wonder how that young pregnant woman and her friend given 9 months under these laws felt?
Or the singles mums evicted?
Or those deported?
I’ll do a separate thread on SERP…
7/61
I wonder how that young pregnant woman and her friend given 9 months under these laws felt?
Or the singles mums evicted?
Or those deported?
I’ll do a separate thread on SERP…
7/61
“Trapped in prostitution”
WHY why why why why then are Mia and pals not spending the millions they've been given on exit supports instead of criminalizing SWer’s last option?
They started TORL in 2009.
Still, in 2021, no exit supports.
8/61
WHY why why why why then are Mia and pals not spending the millions they've been given on exit supports instead of criminalizing SWer’s last option?
They started TORL in 2009.
Still, in 2021, no exit supports.
8/61
This law has been in place since since 2017, no exit supports.
Remember that it was in March 2021, during a worldwide pandemic, that “beyond exploitation,” the campaign that Mia works for, was launched.
9/61
Remember that it was in March 2021, during a worldwide pandemic, that “beyond exploitation,” the campaign that Mia works for, was launched.
9/61
#Beyondexploitation is a partnership between Ireland’s elite in NWCI (many of NWCI’s less privileged have reached out to say they’re horrified by the campaign) and 2 NGOs founded by Magdalene nuns.
10/61
10/61
Yes, the same nuns that refuse to pay restitution to their asylum victims are being given millions in public funds to “help” women in SW & those trafficked.
11/61
11/61
Not the majority of those trafficked though.
The #beyondexploitation squad don’t care about them.
Apparently being trafficked into construction, fishing, etc., doesn’t pull on the heart strings like SW does.
12/61
The #beyondexploitation squad don’t care about them.
Apparently being trafficked into construction, fishing, etc., doesn’t pull on the heart strings like SW does.
12/61
A reminder that according to the Trafficking in Persons Report, trafficking has gotten MUCH worse under the laws #beyondexploitation promotes.
Ireland has in a short time gone from being best to one of the worst in the world for human trafficking.
13/61
Ireland has in a short time gone from being best to one of the worst in the world for human trafficking.
13/61
“The study reveals how prostitution affects every part of women’s lives, both physically and mentally.”
Do you mean like poverty & inequality do Mia?
The poverty & inequality people often address with sex work when they have few or no other options?
14/61
Do you mean like poverty & inequality do Mia?
The poverty & inequality people often address with sex work when they have few or no other options?
14/61
“Around 94% of the women who attended the HSE’s Women’s Health Service were migrant women and 40% had insecure immigration status”
and #beyondexploitation is gonna $tick em in Ruhama’$ DP centre$ when they open.
Until then it’s jail and deportation.
15/61
and #beyondexploitation is gonna $tick em in Ruhama’$ DP centre$ when they open.
Until then it’s jail and deportation.
15/61
“Over half had entered prostitution under the age of 24 and some were still only children upon entering”
so… we should address poverty & inequality then?
Oh, we’re going to go with policing instead. I see…
16/61
so… we should address poverty & inequality then?
Oh, we’re going to go with policing instead. I see…
16/61
“it was an addiction that led me there at the age of 33…it did for me what it was intended to do, it paid for my addiction…. I had no idea of the world I had just stepped into and the heavy price I would pay”
That’s terrible, but how would NM have helped?
17/61
That’s terrible, but how would NM have helped?
17/61
People enter SW mostly because of poverty & inequality.
I came from an unsafe home, trans employment discrimination.
Others are fleeing situations where they’re from.
Some are like Mia, supporting addiction.
Others have disabilities that prohibit conventional 9-5’s.
18/61
I came from an unsafe home, trans employment discrimination.
Others are fleeing situations where they’re from.
Some are like Mia, supporting addiction.
Others have disabilities that prohibit conventional 9-5’s.
18/61
There is nothing in #beyondexploitation that improves the situation for any SWer.
It’s all so disingenuous.
What’s the plan?
Spend a fortune pushing eviction, jail & deportation during a worldwide pandemic and THEN somewhere years down the line address exit supports?
19/61
It’s all so disingenuous.
What’s the plan?
Spend a fortune pushing eviction, jail & deportation during a worldwide pandemic and THEN somewhere years down the line address exit supports?
19/61
#beyondexploitation make it clear they have no interest in consulting w SWers on supports needed.
Why not consult w SWers BEFORE launching the campaign (during a worldwide pandemic)?
20/61
Why not consult w SWers BEFORE launching the campaign (during a worldwide pandemic)?
20/61
NWCI invited SWAI to join AFTER myself & other SWers responded to the cruelty of launching #beyondexploitation during a pandemic that promotes laws shown to result in increased violence & vulnerability for SWers.
21/61
21/61
“Within a very short space of time, your only human contact becomes the men who buy you and the other women who stand alongside you”
Under the laws #beyondexploitation promotes, working alongside other women gets you imprisoned:
theguardian.com/commentisfree/…
22/61
Under the laws #beyondexploitation promotes, working alongside other women gets you imprisoned:
theguardian.com/commentisfree/…
22/61
“You begin to see the world in a very different way. Then the inevitable happens, rape or sexual assault”
What part of being forced to work alone, making it illegal to rent to sex workers, and being moved on by Gardaí if street working makes rape less likely?
23/61
What part of being forced to work alone, making it illegal to rent to sex workers, and being moved on by Gardaí if street working makes rape less likely?
23/61
“I have multiple accounts of rape, physical and sexual assaults and countless experiences of humiliation”
Ok, why not fight for decrim alongside those that have experienced same or similar?
Why are you and that transphobe the sole ex-SWers working alongside the nuns?
24/61
Ok, why not fight for decrim alongside those that have experienced same or similar?
Why are you and that transphobe the sole ex-SWers working alongside the nuns?
24/61
“Your ability to see choices becomes extremely compromised by the effects of trauma and disconnection from society in general and that is if you ever had any choices, to begin with”
25/61
25/61
Okay, so then why not pour all that #wedontbuyit and #beyondexploitation etc., funding into providing choices?
Addiction supports?
Affordable housing? Etc.,
Rather than carceral solutions that address none of these issues?
26/61
Addiction supports?
Affordable housing? Etc.,
Rather than carceral solutions that address none of these issues?
26/61
“I met a social worker and although I would have had a very guarded front, she was different. There was no judgement, no intrusive questions, she just saw a woman, a mother who was hurt and lost in a cruel world and took the time to build a trusting relationship with me”
27/61
27/61
“No judgement…took the time to build a trusting relationship with me”
So the opposite of what NWCI are doing?
The opposite of what the nuns who founded Ruhama & Immigrant Council have done since the founding of the “free state”?
28/61
So the opposite of what NWCI are doing?
The opposite of what the nuns who founded Ruhama & Immigrant Council have done since the founding of the “free state”?
28/61
“What followed that phone call was a medical detox, followed by further rehab, three months working with a psychologist and a specialist caseworker”
29/61
29/61
Why haven’t y’all led with this instead of policing?
TORL started in 2009 and still there are no exit supports for SWers.
Ruhama admitted as much in 2019:
immigrantcouncil.ie/sites/default/…
30/61
TORL started in 2009 and still there are no exit supports for SWers.
Ruhama admitted as much in 2019:
immigrantcouncil.ie/sites/default/…
30/61
“According to Ruhama approximately 90% of women want to exit at some point but have a perception that there are not any viable alternatives for them.”
31/61
31/61
“From day one of my recovery it took a team of experts to put me back together and a lot of inner resilience”
Again, why haven’t y’all led with this?
There are no adequate mental health resources for working class irish people, let alone sex workers.
32/61
Again, why haven’t y’all led with this?
There are no adequate mental health resources for working class irish people, let alone sex workers.
32/61
“I know that the damage caused by prostitution to the physical and sexual health of our bodies is immense. The physical may be treated and may heal but many suffer from lifelong injuries to their bodies.”
33/61
33/61
Like poverty & inequality?
“Research tells us that prostituted women can experience the same level of PTSD and sometimes higher levels than veterans returning home from conflict”
Did the research separate PTSD from SW from PTSD from poverty & inequality?
If so, how?
34/61
“Research tells us that prostituted women can experience the same level of PTSD and sometimes higher levels than veterans returning home from conflict”
Did the research separate PTSD from SW from PTSD from poverty & inequality?
If so, how?
34/61
“Maybe you can understand now how it is hard for us to trust humans again”
That doesn’t mean we now trust gardaí or nuns Mia… we don’t trust them either.
35/61
That doesn’t mean we now trust gardaí or nuns Mia… we don’t trust them either.
35/61
“Prostitution in Ireland is highly organised and criminally run”
Sweet Jesus, no it isn’t.
That would make SW the only thing in Ireland that’s highly organized.
“Criminal run” yeah… I guess… seeing as y’all criminalized it.
36/61
Sweet Jesus, no it isn’t.
That would make SW the only thing in Ireland that’s highly organized.
“Criminal run” yeah… I guess… seeing as y’all criminalized it.
36/61
A street worker seeing a client is committing a criminal act, so yes, a lonely vulnerable person bracing themselves against the cold to earn a few euro could in Ireland be considered “criminal run.”
You got me there Mia.
37/61
You got me there Mia.
37/61
Two women working together for safety is “criminal run” thanks to y’all
m.independent.ie/irish-news/cou…
38/61
m.independent.ie/irish-news/cou…
38/61
“This is why in 2017 Ireland took a brave and progressive step and enacted a law that would begin the process of ending the abuse”
Oh yeah?
journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.11…
39/61
Oh yeah?
journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.11…
39/61
See?
Over and over Ruhama point out the vulnerability of SWers - which they have greatly exacerbated - and then say something like “and that’s why Ireland bravely enacted the jail, evict and deport all SWers law. Give us money and power.”
40/61
Over and over Ruhama point out the vulnerability of SWers - which they have greatly exacerbated - and then say something like “and that’s why Ireland bravely enacted the jail, evict and deport all SWers law. Give us money and power.”
40/61
“Our law criminalises the purchase of sex while explicitly decriminalising those who are selling sexual access”
Except when Ireland jails SWers for working together, evicts us, deports us, seizes our earnings, etc. 🙄🙄🙄
41/61
Except when Ireland jails SWers for working together, evicts us, deports us, seizes our earnings, etc. 🙄🙄🙄
41/61
It was Sweden’s law first. It’s been in place since 1999.
Go follow @RedUmbrellaSwe to see how it’s playing out there.
About the same as in Ireland, not well for sex workers.
42/61
Go follow @RedUmbrellaSwe to see how it’s playing out there.
About the same as in Ireland, not well for sex workers.
42/61
“We know that laws criminalising the demand for prostitution are strong tools to break the global system of commercial sexual exploitation”
We don’t know that.
Evidence shows the opposite.
Any pro-NM research I’ve seen is linked to orgs whose funding benefits.
43/61
We don’t know that.
Evidence shows the opposite.
Any pro-NM research I’ve seen is linked to orgs whose funding benefits.
43/61
“But the law itself is only a first step”
Why was the law the first step? Not exit supports?
“It must be backed up by real supports and exit routes for women”
Ok… millions have been spent on this shit, zero supports and exit routes.
44/61
Why was the law the first step? Not exit supports?
“It must be backed up by real supports and exit routes for women”
Ok… millions have been spent on this shit, zero supports and exit routes.
44/61
“It can be hard to understand the complex reasons as to why women including myself feel or felt trapped, even if there appear to be no chains holding us there or the vulnerabilities are not visible to the onlooker”
Again, address the poverty & inequality y’all…
45/61
Again, address the poverty & inequality y’all…
45/61
“I was fortunate as I managed to leave on my second attempt, but not because I’m in some way stronger. I just had a head start over most of the women”
Yeah we know Mia.
Have you ever wondered why you’re the only ex-SWer to get help?
Followed by a salary?
46/61
Yeah we know Mia.
Have you ever wondered why you’re the only ex-SWer to get help?
Followed by a salary?
46/61
“I was in my own country, I spoke the same language, I had a safe roof over my head and I had access to social welfare”
Same! But I was raided by Gardaí, brutalized, had everything taken from me, almost including my life.
And I know those less fortunate have it worse.
47/61
Same! But I was raided by Gardaí, brutalized, had everything taken from me, almost including my life.
And I know those less fortunate have it worse.
47/61
“Because the truth is they buy us when we’re sick, they buy us when we’re weeping, they buy us when we’re disconnected, stoned, intoxicated”
They pay to have sex with us.
I’ve seen many clients since the 80s.
Which one do I belong to?
All of them?
Any of them?
48/61
They pay to have sex with us.
I’ve seen many clients since the 80s.
Which one do I belong to?
All of them?
Any of them?
48/61
“We may have no idea how we are ever going to put the pieces of our lives back together”
Then ask your millionaire pals to provide adequate mental health services in Ireland.
Free college for SWers would be a lovely start. It costs around 50k to become a psychotherapist.
49/61
Then ask your millionaire pals to provide adequate mental health services in Ireland.
Free college for SWers would be a lovely start. It costs around 50k to become a psychotherapist.
49/61
“But like all complex puzzles, the first thing you must do is build a border that will surround and protect the pieces from falling out. The building of that border is intense and requires specialised care and supports”
Sounds carceral…
50/61
Sounds carceral…
https://twitter.com/bulelanimfaco/status/1326981040280391683?s=21
50/61
“The Beyond Exploitation campaign, led by the National Women’s Council is calling for statutorily funded exit routes and supports, which may differ from one woman to the next depending on her needs”
Again, why didn’t y’all spend your millions on this instead of policing?
51/61
Again, why didn’t y’all spend your millions on this instead of policing?
51/61
“One of the main ways women find an avenue to escape is through contact or intervention from frontline services such as Women’s Health Services, specialist services, such as Ruhama, and An Garda Síochána”
Bullshit.
This Ruhama?
irishtimes.com/news/laundry-o…
52/61
Bullshit.
This Ruhama?
irishtimes.com/news/laundry-o…
52/61
“Managing to leave is only the first step, the ability to stay away is another much more complex one. The women are often leaving extremely traumatic situations and their needs are varied and complex“
Why not address this 1st?
Maybe cause #beyondexploitation is bullshit?
58/61
Why not address this 1st?
Maybe cause #beyondexploitation is bullshit?
58/61
“And as many of the women are moved around the country, it is important that services with specialist staff are not only based in Dublin”
Why not say there are sex workers everywhere in Ireland?
Because being moved around by shadowy forces fits the narrative better.
59/61
Why not say there are sex workers everywhere in Ireland?
Because being moved around by shadowy forces fits the narrative better.
59/61
“women need support around immigration status, ensuring they do not have to fear deportation as a result of trying to exit & seeking help… specialist, trauma-informed psychological support… with access to housing, social welfare, addiction services, training, employment”
60/61
60/61
Ok, again, why haven’t y’all led with this?
This is why we don’t trust you.
Y’all led with jail, eviction, deportation, and violence.
Y’all talk about supports but it’s just been talk.
Millions spent and yet none of the supports Mia was given for other workers.
61/61
This is why we don’t trust you.
Y’all led with jail, eviction, deportation, and violence.
Y’all talk about supports but it’s just been talk.
Millions spent and yet none of the supports Mia was given for other workers.
61/61
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