Sex workers to hold vigil at Leinster House to highlight rise in violence against them

The Trafficking in Persons report, conducted by the US Department of State, has found that the Irish government has continued “to have systemic deficiencies in victim identification, referral, and assistance, and lacked specialized accommodation and adequate services for victims”. File photo

Sex workers will gather at the gates of Leinster House this evening for a vigil to highlight their concerns about Irish laws on the industry.

The vigil at 6.30pm is being held to mark International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers, according to the Sex Workers Alliance of Ireland.

The group says that sex workers have been evicted and some have also been deported during the pandemic.

Spokeswoman Linda Kavanagh said there have also been instances where people convicted for brothel keeping have been ordered to leave the country, despite the pandemic.

She pointed to one case in Waterford in January in which a Polish woman was ordered to return to Poland within 14 days or risk activating a suspended one-year prison term, after being convicted of keeping a brothel.

She also raised concerns that for the second year in a row, Ireland is in the Tier 2 Watchlist of the Trafficking in Persons report, conducted by the US Department of State. Romania is the only other EU state in Tier 2. The US and and UK are both in Tier 1.

The report found that the Irish government has continued “to have systemic deficiencies in victim identification, referral, and assistance, and lacked specialized accommodation and adequate services for victims”. 

The report did acknowledge some advances including designating an independent human trafficking national rapporteur and establishing a formal national anti-trafficking forum composed of interagency and civil society stakeholders.

However, Ms Kavanagh says the SWAI is concerned fewer trafficking victims have been identified and the organisation says violence against sex workers has increased by 92%. The organisation is also seeking the publication of a review of the 2017 legislation which criminalised the purchase of sex.

Solicitor Maura Butler was appointed as the Independent Expert to conduct the review last year and it has not yet been published. The SWAI lodged a submission during the review.

Ms Kavanagh said: “We have heard nothing back since the consultation process and we do not know where the process is at now.” Under The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017, the sale of sex is not criminalised.

Last month, during two days of action, An Garda Siochana targeted people involved in the purchase of sexual services and the protection of individuals engaged in the sex trade.

The organisation said it carried out safeguarding visits nationally to individuals within the sex trade, with the view to identifying individuals who are potentially being sexually exploited or trafficked.

A total of 77 people were questioned on suspicion of having purchased sexual services. Files are being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions on foot of the days of action.