Sir, – Dan O’Brien (Opinion August 23rd) has drawn attention to how successfully the Turn Off the Red Light (TORL) campaign has convinced the Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality to back the Swedish law at the recent hearings.
One fact about these was the imbalance in numbers of those called, the large numbers called on the TORL side and the small number of those opposed. Points made repeatedly by such groups as the Immigrant Council of Ireland, the National Women’s Council and others were: “It is legally and socially unacceptable to buy the use of another person’s body for sex” and that nearly all women in prostitution are innocent victims.
The practical import of the Swedish law then is to make men responsible for prostitution. This would have serious social and political consequences for men: prostitution would be seen as just another aspect of male domination and violence against women. A striking fact was that not only did the committee not challenge these views itself, it did not see fit to call any man who would challenge them. These views represent an ideological position;they are not supported by evidence. This was a glaring omission because it also runs counter to the much vaunted commitment of this society to the so-called principle of equality. This is all the more striking when one considers that the committee holds a brief for equality as well as justice. – Yours, etc,
DAVID WALSH,
Rockfield,
Maynooth, Co Kildare.
Sir, – In my view there is no- one better than Dan O’Brien in his analysis and suggestions on how to deal with our economic and fiscal difficulties. One does not associate imagination or creativity with these subjects but his suggestion, in his column (Business, August 23rd), that if prostitution was decriminalised the purchasers of the service would pay VAT and the providers income tax, might qualify. – Yours, etc,
TOM GREALY,
Threadneedle Road, Galway.