Sir, – I refer to Kathy Sheridan's article "Telling the grim truth about prostitution" (Opinion & Analysis, November 19th). As a "much-loved daughter of middle Ireland" myself, I strongly oppose the views expressed and the overall tone of the piece.
Poverty drives women into the industry, and it is this which we “lefty liberals” must seek to eradicate, not consenting adults having sex. It’s very clear that Ms Sheridan finds sex work distasteful, to put it mildly. However, this debate is not about how any one person feels about the trade, it’s about the right to work in safety, a right currently denied and which will continue to be denied under the new legislation.
The further assertion made that “significant numbers are drawn in as children under 18” is false, and used by abolitionists around the world. Last year Turn off the Red Light repeatedly claimed that there were 19 victims of child prostitution in the Republic of Ireland. The then minster for justice Alan Shatter told them to stop using that figure because it simply was not true.
Finally, Ms Sheridan speaks of those who can’t be doing with “peer-reviewed studies”. I find that assertion ironic, because the evidence from around the world points to decriminalisation as a preferred model to protect the most vulnerable in the industry. That evidence comes from the World Health Organisation, the UN Aids body, and medical journals, to name but a few.
It’s clear from recent communications from Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald’s office that it is her intention to press ahead with the criminalisation of clients. Were this to happen, those who are already vulnerable will suffer all the more, as I explained to the Minister in person last week. In the end, good law must never be based on an ideological sending of a “message”, rather it should be based on evidence. Evidence which is in abundance. – Yours, etc,
LAURA LEE,
Ayrshire,
Scotland.
Sir, – I've never watched Love/Hate so I'll have to accept Kathy Sheridan's description of episodes from it. Certainly, if the State hadn't made the disastrous mistake of criminalising recreational drugs – if drugs were taxed, controlled and regulated, with addictive drugs available to registered addicts to be taken in a controlled setting – fewer people of whatever social class would be forced into prostitution to pay for them. And it's undoubtedly true that prostitution – like indeed many other lifestyle-choices – is not a path that most people would want to encourage members of their family to go down.
The proposed “Swedish model” legislation will hurt people who have no economic alternative to selling sexual services, as well as customers who may get caught in the net. (Significantly, it will offer some disabled people, who may have no other outlet for physical intimacy, an unpalatable choice between criminality and perpetual celibacy.)
The example Kathy Sheridan gives of the illegality of the trade in human organs is not well chosen, since if the proposed legislation were applied to that trade, it would result in the absurdity that I would be allowed to sell my kidney, but someone suffering from kidney failure would be arrested for trying to buy it!
This is a complex area and the discussion needs to take full account of the complexities. The debate should of course objectively weigh up the relevant evidence, but it should also focus on the central issue of the limitations of law regarding voluntary, private relations between adults, without being sidelined into other issues. – Yours, etc,
PAUL O’BRIEN,
Dublin 8.
Sir, – Prostitution is a gender issue, a class issue and an ethnic issue. It is overwhelmingly men who buy sex, and mainly poor women from impoverished regions of the world who are involved in prostitution. As someone who for many years has been involved in researching prostitution and violence against women, my concern is that forthcoming Irish legislation must challenge the subordination and degradation of women, especially in relation to those from disadvantaged groups.
The flow of foreign women into Ireland for the purpose of prostitution started in the early 2000s, and coincided with the Irish prostitution industry moving from street to indoor prostitution. What we now have in Ireland is a highly lucrative, internet-based, indoor prostitution trade worth an estimated €180 million. The networks of control are highly internationalised. Irish indigenous criminals are linked to eastern European, central European and African gangs. These networks ensure a highly ethnicised prostitution sector in Ireland. A staggering 51 separate nationalities of women are involved, with between 800 and 1,000 women engaging in prostitution at any one time.
Prostitution is not only about payment of money for sex. It is about economic and sexual power and the ability to give commands and control women. It assumes that men are entitled to have their sexual needs met through the paid bodies of women, and that there should be a special group of women available for this purpose.
The psychological, physical and emotional damage that prostitution causes to women is well documented.
The prostitution industry is based on inequalities between women and men. Such inequalities arise from poverty, the increasing sexualisation and pornographication of female bodies in popular culture, and from histories of violent abuse in both childhood and adulthood that underpin many women’s entry into the sex industry.
Prostitution is, therefore, both a cause and consequence of gender inequality. Criminalising the purchase of sexual acts, decriminalising those who sell, and providing specialist support to women to be able to leave prostitution are measures that directly address gender inequalities. – Yours, etc,
PATRICIA
KELLEHER, PhD
Beara,
Co Cork.