Ms Margaret Martin:

Women's Aid welcomes the opportunity to present at this meeting on the review of legislation of prostitution in Ireland. Women's Aid is part of the Turn Off the Red Light, TORL, campaign and is aware that some leading members of the campaign have presented to the committee. Our focus will be on the links between prostitution and domestic violence and, in particular, on domestic violence as a factor of entry into prostitution and the similarities and common vulnerabilities between these two forms of violence against women. Both are violations of human rights and a barrier to gender equality. Like women experiencing domestic violence, women engaged in prostitution experience physical, sexual, psychological and financial abuse. The issue of control is central in both situations. The isolation, emotional and financial dependency, the threats and the use of violence are tactics that we also see in our work.

The following words reported in the Paying the Price report by a woman named Frances are strikingly similar to what women experiencing domestic violence tell us every day:

For my second pimp there was no way I could finish work without having at least £200 every day... I didn't have a penny of it. He chose my clothes... he chose my food, he told me when to eat, when to sleep, when to work, when to go home, when to speak. I just could not do anything without his permission.

Another similarity is the range of extremely harmful effects from this violence which include psychological harm, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and low self-confidence, as well as physical harm and severe injuries. The two issues conflate when the intimate partner of the woman is the person coercing her into prostitution.

In our work we sometimes hear of women experiencing domestic violence who are forced by their abusive partner to work as a prostitute or who are coerced by their partner to have sex with other persons in exchange for money or for drugs. Conversely, Ruhama comes across the issue of grooming or direct coercion into prostitution by an intimate partner in the work they do with women involved in prostitution. Intimate partner abuse by a partner or pimp is often a reality for women engaged in prostitution. This is confirmed by US and UK research outlined in our submission.

At times, women experiencing or escaping domestic violence who are forced into prostitution by the lack of any other income generation opportunity. Poverty and lack of access to money and resources makes women vulnerable to entry into prostitution, particularly women with no access to household income for themselves and their children. Following separation, non-payment of maintenance can be a major issue. Some of the women we work with are not entitled to welfare benefits or social housing and may find themselves in extreme poverty. Domestic violence is a major cause of homelessness, making women and children more vulnerable to prostitution. A study of 60 homeless women in Ireland published in 2012 found that 72% of them had experienced violence and abuse in childhood and two thirds had experienced intimate partner violence, with 15% having engaged in sex work as a means of generating income.

Child abuse and domestic violence often co-occur. The Paying the Price report states that 85% of women in prostitution report physical abuse in the family, with 45% reporting familial sexual abuse. It also concludes that, "Given their vulnerability, children who have been affected by domestic violence are likely to be over-represented among children abused through prostitution". Other TORL members have previously referred to the young age at which women get involved in prostitution, many of them when they are still under age. In this respect, we are concerned about the trend of so-called "loverboys" where by young girls are groomed and coerced into prostitution by older boyfriends. The UK report I mentioned also states:

There is evidence to show that there are shifting patterns in the way in which prostitution is operating. The trend is away from pimps controlling a number of women and towards 'pimp/partner' relationships.

Unfortunately, there is a paucity of research on this issue in Ireland. A recent article on women in Northern Ireland outlines the similarities and links between domestic violence and prostitution, especially with reference to the cycle of entrapment into prostitution and the cycle of domestic abuse.

In our experience the law can be a powerful instrument to change attitudes and set the limits of what is and is not acceptable in society. However, legislative change, while vital, is not enough on its own. Support services and access to housing and welfare supports are equally important to offer viable exit strategies.

Women’s Aid believes prostitution is intrinsically exploitative, harmful and violent and best tackled by targeting demand. Targeting the sex buyer sends a clear message that buying sex is not socially acceptable and for this reason, we support the call for introducing legislation based on the Swedish model.