Time to curb demand for prostitution

We are asking Minister for Justice, Frances Fitzgerald, given her commitment to reducing prostitution, to introduce laws that will end exploitation and human trafficking.

It is good that she is considering a ‘follow the money’ approach. She should implement the recommendations of the Oireachtas Justice Committee from June of last year and target the buyers of sex.

The committee studied 800 detailed submissions in six months of hearings, during which senior Gardaí said that organised crime gangs, foreign and domestic, run Irish prostitution.

Figures from the Central Statistics Office estimate that prostitution is part of a €1.2bn-a-year racket.

As Europe prepares to mark Anti-Human Trafficking Day, on October 18, we are encouraging her to use the new Sexual Offences Bill, due for publication before Christmas, to introduce laws that will end demand for prostitution and human trafficking. Laws targeting the buyers of sex, as per several Nordic countries and major US cities, have secured backing in the Council of Europe, the European Parliament, the French National Assembly and the House of Commons in Canada. Act to Prevent Trafficking is writing this letter on behalf of itself and a dozen Irish NGOs.

Geraldine Mac Carthy

Coordinator, Act to Prevent Trafficking