Drug habits force women to keep working the streets

THERE is a misconception that street prostitution is gradually dying out in this country — that more and more women are involved in the more lucrative off-street trade.

However, the reality is there are still a high number of women standing in the red light districts each night.

Over the Christmas holiday period, workers in and around the red light district of Dublin reported huge numbers lining the streets to make the most of the high spending before the January slump.

For the most part, according to Ruhama, the support service for prostitutes, the women are addicted to drugs, which forces them to stay on the streets.

A survey carried out on behalf of Ruhama by TSA Consultancy found some women reported being ‘out every night’ to support a drug habit and a pimp.

The research identified drug and alcohol use as primarily a survival mechanism for some of the women, with many habitually getting drunk or stoned or using prescription drugs in order to work, and ‘to numb the pain’ of prostitution.

The dangers of the ‘oldest profession’ were brought into sharp focus by the recent murders of five prostitutes in Suffolk, England. There, when the killer was still at large prostitutes continued to take to the streets because they needed money to support their habit.

There are three districts of Dublin, 2, 4 and 7 where the level of prostitution is particularly high. Gardaí patrol these areas regularly but still large numbers of punters manage to find what they are looking for, with women willing to take risks with their health, in order to earn money to support their drug habit. The women in the apartments, hotels and houses can shut the door. On the streets they are getting into cars with men who could be taking them anywhere.

Every night hundreds of cars flock to the red light districts of Dublin. Surprisingly the risk of being caught or identified by gardaí seems to act as little or no deterrent to the punters as one crudely titled website, Brassers.com, highlights.

It offers reviews of 15 areas in the capital by those who have availed of the women’s services. Those who offer sexual services without a condom seem to get the most attention.

Arbour Hill is given 17 reviews and has an average of two stars. The ‘reviewers’ describe encounters they have had, in particular with an Eastern European woman. She receives rave reviews because of her willingness to offer all types of sex without a condom. In a rare moment of candour on the site, one reviewer asks ‘is it not a bit dangerous to not use protection?’.

Baggot Street receives one star from its five reviewers. One complains: “Where are all the street walkers gone? A few years ago, there was never any problem finding one around the Leeson street, Baggot street, canal area, or around Benburb st. True, many of them were junkies. But certainly not all of them.... I get the feeling that, especially in the last few months, the guards have killed off the Southside scene... Surely at least the junkies have to go somewhere to earn their money? Is there a new location?”

Benburb Street receives two stars from its 11 reviewers. Again the garda presence and the availability of unprotected sex are evident. However, crank advertisements and phone numbers point to the fact that children have accessed the site and used it to play pranks on their friends.

The 11 reviewers of Burlington Road, which gets a two star average, are lambasted by a woman who calls herself Linda and claims to work in the red light district. She says she is disgusted a website has been made about the women.

The area that gets the best star rating is Fitzwilliam Square with the women complimented for being ‘up front, old style’.

The website creators explain the existence of the website by saying: “Despite the ever-increasing popularity of high-class whoring in Dublin, some punters still like Dublin prostitution as it used to be — on the streets. Some punters want it as cheap as they can get it, others get a thrill out of the danger element of kerb crawling. The streets are really where the ‘world’s oldest profession’ is at for some punters.”

While hundreds of women continue to operate in Dublin, outside the capital street prostitution is in decline.

In Cork there has been a noticeable decrease in the women frequenting the usual haunts close to the river. In other cities such as Limerick and Waterford there has been a reduction.

However, according to Ruhama, it is unlikely to be eradicated completely while a dependence on drugs is still driving the women and while there is not more of a crackdown on kerb-crawling punters.