Where paying for sex is a crime, prostitution fell, attitudes changed
AN IMPORTANT milestone has been reached in the efforts to put pimps and traffickers out of business and bring the criminal activity they have brought to every county to an end.
The publication of recommendations by the Oireachtas justice committee on the future of Irish prostitution law presents us with a real opportunity to end abuse, exploitation and trafficking.
While the details of what has been proposed will take a little time to examine, it is clear the arguments put forward to deal a serious blow to organised crime by targeting sex buyers has been accepted.
The Immigrant Council of Ireland is one of 68 organisations, with a combined membership of 1.6m people, which form the Turn Off the Red Light Campaign to seek such a change in the law.
The justice committee has come to its conclusion after studying hundreds of written submissions, as well as six months of hearings at Leinster House. During the process, doctors, nurses, public servants, human rights and children’s rights organisations, and many more made the case for changing the law.
However, the recommendations are really a tribute to the survivors of prostitution who testified to the committee. These women chose to relive the horror of their ordeal by retelling their stories. It is their bravery which has given hope to those still trapped in a life of threats, abuse and violence today.
During the process, attempts were made to create confusion in the debate, but we invited the politicians to look at the facts.
The reality of Irish prostitution is that 800 women are for sale on the net today, and everyday. Many have been brought to this country under false pretences, often with offers of a better life, a new career or even marriage. It is only when they pass through customs and into the arrivals hall of Dublin Airport that the grim reality dawns.
As a frontline organisation, the Immigrant Council of Ireland has supported survivors who were placed in brothels literally within hours of arriving into the country. In order to prevent an escape, their documents, passports, and money are taken from them. Instead of a new life of hope, the women find themselves forced to have sex with multiple men on a daily basis.
The official sex-trafficking figures speak for themselves: 134 people trafficked in three years of which 32 were children. The actual figures are probably a lot higher.
This is a world away from the Pretty Woman fiction which the sex trade likes to portray. There are no Julia Roberts-type characters being driven around in limos from five-star hotel to five-star hotel, the reality is a brothel in an apartment block, a housing estate, or above a pub or chip-shop.
The trade denies it has links with criminals, a fact contradicted not just by the gardaí but by the survivors who manage to escape.
Prostitution is absolutely linked to organised crime. Those countries who have attempted to get to grips with the problem by regularising prostitution have failed.
After 12 years of legal prostitution, Amsterdam is now Europe’s human-trafficking hub. Police say half the managers of the legalised brothels have criminal records and the continued use of underage girls has forced an increase in the minimum age for prostitution to 21.
DUTCH problems are not unique, Germany and New Zealand are also debating a re-think on their laws.
The approach we have sought is similar to that in Sweden where laws targeting sex buyers have not only dramatically reduced prostitution and organised crime but also brought about a complete change in social attitudes to buying sex.
Swedish police have given freely of their time to come to Ireland and be part of the review of our laws. Det Insp Simon Haggstrom of the Stockholm Vice Squad best summed it up when he said changing the law there stopped pimps from viewing his country as a “high profit, low risk” destination. We must now ensure that Ireland is now viewed in the same way.
When the recommendations of the justice committee land on the desk of Justice Minister Alan Shatter, they will do so as other countries are also considering following Swedish law.
Debates on future laws are taking place in France and other continental countries as well as closer to home in Scotland and the North. If these jurisdictions proceed and Ireland does not, then we will absolutely be a soft target for criminals.
Public support for our campaign has been overwhelming and without doubt secured this milestone, however, it is important to note that our law has not been changed yet. The recommendations will now be considered by the minister.
We will be encouraging Mr Shatter to conclude his consideration in a timely manner and move to legislate at an early stage, as any delay only benefits the criminals.
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