Ireland

Ireland ciminalised clients (Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill) in 2017. Attacks on sex workers have increased dramatically. Reported incidences of violent crime against sex workers, from threats to assaults with weapons, have risen by 92% since the law change and sex workers are now less likely to report dangerous clients to Gardaí

See latest report from Amnesty International: “We live within a violent system.” Structural violence against sex workers in Ireland

For more information please follow the work of our friends SWAI (Sex Workers Alliance Ireland) and Red Umbrella Front

25th January 2022

Independent: Ireland’s prostitution laws ‘facilitating’ violent attacks against sex workers, Amnesty says

Sex workers say they see police ‘as a threat rather than a shield’Maya OppenheimWomen’s CorrespondentIreland’s decision to criminalise prostitution is “facilitating” harassment of sex workers and violent attacks against them, a scathing new report has found.Research carried out by Amnesty International warned legislation implemented in 2017 was driving sex workers to put their lives at risk in a desperate bid […]

13th September 2020

Irish review of the Operation of Part 4 of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017 (2020)

The Irish government criminalised the purchase of sexual services under The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017. In 2020 it reviewed the law, specifically its ability to protect sex workers from harm and to identify victims of human trafficking. The ECP provided evidence that it did not achieve either of the above aims and recommended […]

18th June 2019

Independent: Jailing of migrant sex workers in Ireland decried as ‘completely unjust’

‘Convictions for sex work further limit people’s ability to exit the industry and find alternative means of employment,’ says sex worker Maya Oppenheim Women’s Correspondent @mayaoppenheim The jailing of two migrant sex workers in Ireland has been condemned by others in the industry as “horrible” and “completely unjust”. Adrina Podaru, 25, and Ana Tomascu, 20, were living in Newbridge, Kildare, […]

12th June 2019

The Guardian: A change in Irish law was meant to help sex workers. So why are they being jailed?

Lobbyists say making payment for sex illegal targets punters. But in fact it makes workers’ bodies into crime scenes@frankiemullinPaying for sex has been illegal in Ireland for two years. At the time of the law’s introduction, proponents insisted that the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017, a version of “end demand” or “Nordic model” legislation, would […]

9th February 2018

Statement: Rest in Power, Laura Lee

SWARM and ECP are devastated by the death of Laura Lee. Laura was a major figure in the sex worker rights movement; a fearless campaigner, a loyal comrade and, to many of us, a dear friend. Our thoughts are with Laura’s family and, in particular, her daughter Cat. Laura’s loss is unspeakably sad. A sex worker […]

27th February 2014

Hotpress: Prostitution – Whose life is it anyway?

Niki Adams cautions against ‘the Swedish Model’ and raises concerns about the role of the religiously-motivated, State-funded Irish pressure group ‘Ruhama’. Olaf Tyaransen “To the moralist, prostitution does not consist so much in the fact that the woman sells her body, but rather that she sells it out of wedlock.” – EMMA GOLDMAN, Anarchism And Other Essays […]

28th December 2013

Irish Times: Sex workers’ reality is no toy for religious or other moralising

Fionola MeredithFeminists and religious fundamentalists shouldn’t mix. If they do find common cause, it’s often a sign that one-dimensional moral or ideological fanaticism – rigid adherence, fuelled by heightened emotion, to absolutist messages and beliefs – has become more important than what happens to real people in the real world.Take the planned introduction of new […]