Dr. Teresa Whitaker:

Go raibh míle maith ag an tSeanadóir as an cheist sin. The Senator is taking a very compassionate view. There is plenty of research on the reasons men buy sex. UNAIDS argues that one should not demonise, villainise or make men who buy sex into folk devils because they are, for the most part, ordinary men. Some of the women I speak to have indicated that the clients they prefer are those who have baby seats in the back of the car because they are the guys who go home to their wives afterwards. I will not judge men - I will leave that to God - or comment on the reason they have sex drives.

In some countries, men with disabilities can pay for the services of a sex worker. In Australia, a woman who was born with a certain medical condition whose name I do not recall decided to enter politics and is now a Member of Parliament. She had never had sex because no man would look at her. She asked her dad to help her find a male sex worker because she wanted to experience sex. She has championed the cause of sex workers in Australia and the decriminalisation of prostitution. We need to be more compassionate.

If we had a referendum tomorrow on legalising prostitution, I am sure the majority of people would reject it because they do not understand all the issues. For years, we have heard the same message, namely, that prostitution is a sin, immoral and dirty and all the women involved are pimped into it. Let me put the issue this way; there are 50 shades of grey.