Turning off the red light

The clear, unambiguous statements of Cork City councillors (Council: Criminalise buying of sex, Irish Examiner, Sep 25), in calling for an end to sex trafficking by making it illegal to pay for sex, stand in marked contrast to the silence of local TDs on the issue.

Councillors have shown leadership in joining those in five other local authorities to demand legal change.

I hope Cork deputies will take note, not just of the council decision, but also of the 59 groups representing doctors, nurses, young farmers, public service workers, survivors of prostitution, and many more who have come together to form the Turn Off the Red Light campaign and demand action.

The silence of our national politicians is being seen as a nod and a wink to brothel owners, pimps and human traffickers to continue their evil trade. Twenty-three children have been trafficked into Ireland in the past two years to be sexually abused and exploited.

We do not want Cork, or anywhere else in Ireland, to follow the lead of Amsterdam, which has become a hub of human misery and where city fathers are now trying to dismantle a red light district which has been a magnet for crime.

TDs must now show real leadership and join those of us campaigning to “Turn Off the Red Light”.

John Curtin

Mallow

Co Cork