Sir, – Attempts to portray the sex trade in Ireland by some of your correspondents as a benign place where independent people "work" in a legitimate, healthy profession is utterly misguided. A major study, of which I am a co-author, Globalisation, Sex Trafficking and Prostitution: The Experiences of Migrant Women in Ireland (Kelleher Associates, et al, 2009), revealed a highly organised, criminal sex trade in this country in which international traffickers, Irish pimps, prostitution agencies and buyers collaborate in the commercial sexual exploitation of between 800 and 1,000 girls and women. The vast majority are young, vulnerable migrants from impoverished regions of the world, at least 10 per cent of whom have been trafficked to Ireland for the purpose of sexual exploitation. The findings of this research have been further validated by the Garda and an extensive Prime Time investigation by Paul Maguire, which makes it even more surprising that claims are made by some that no independent research exists in Ireland.
This research supports multiple international studies that demonstrate the severe harm and sexually exploitative nature of prostitution sex. – Yours, etc,
Dr MONICA O’CONNOR,
Bray, Co Wicklow.
Sir, – In the debate on prostitution and the law, a point that I rarely see discussed, but which I think is worth raising, is that certain groups, either due to disability, health, or some other factors, do not have the same opportunities for sexual contact as your average person does.
This, of course, does not mean that such people should be “entitled” to another person’s body for their own gratification – nor is it desirable that they would permanently replace authentic intimacy with the professional kind – but criminalising those who seek (and offer) sexual services effectively condemns certain groups in society to a life without physical intimacy. – Yours, etc,
DAVID McGINN,
Sandymount,
Dublin 4.
Sir, – Most, if not all of the letters on this subject seem to exclusively focus on the plight of the woman, and while that is right and understandable, it should not be the only consideration. Men are involved. Consent between adults is not sufficient to make the transaction morally right. Those who follow the natural law tradition may argue that love is an essential ingredient, while any reasonable person of a secular disposition would surely argue that any act which may, even if entered into freely, damage one of the parties or their family members is morally objectionable. – Yours, etc,
DAVID NELSON,
Dunshaughlin,
Co Meath.
Sir, – I can but marvel at those who claim that a man should be able to buy the use of a woman after a night out, just as easily as he buys a kebab, have the interests of the woman at heart.
Nearly 100 years ago, Dublin had one of the largest red light districts in Europe, the Monto. For the centenary of its closure, do the people of Ireland really want it to be reopened, and parts of Dublin to resemble Amsterdam’s De Wallen?
I have lived in Stockholm and I have lived in Amsterdam. While the Swedish model is not perfect, it is much preferable to the spectacle in Amsterdam. – Yours, etc,
BRIAN KELLY,
Athlone, Co Westmeath.
Sir, – Having witnessed the devastation which prostitution does to those who engage in it, it is extraordinary to see so many letters in The Irish Times defending the continuation of this devastation and the rush to defend what will be the continued exploitation of women, girls and young boys. Having led an EU-funded project, the Dignity Daphne project, that examined various solutions to discontinue sexual abuse and exploitation transnationally (Lithuania, Scotland, Ireland and the UK, including a field trip to Sweden to meet the high court justice who wrote the 10-year evaluation of their legislation), we concluded that the Swedish model of criminalising the purchase of sex, while also decriminalising those who offer commercial sex, leads to a situation where demand for commercial sexual services are deterred and the accompanying support services to those wishing to escape prostitution allows for a lifeline for the more vulnerable, including those trafficked for sexual exploitation.
Calls to protect the rights of those who want to buy women and young boys for sexual exploitation are misplaced. They are calls to protect the right to buy women and young boys and this means protecting the continuation of harm and hurt. It is interesting to note the high number of migrant women engaged in the sex industry in Ireland. In protecting the human rights of all women to live free from exploitation and sexual violence, it is incumbent on policymakers and legislators to ensure that we are not creating a subset of women whom it is acceptable to purchase. – Yours, etc,
GRAINNE HEALY,
Glasnevin, Dublin 11.