Ms Emma Regan:

I thank the committee for inviting me to speak. I will summarise our written submission and discuss free choice, violence against women and the legislation. Our submission comes from a feminist perspective, in that we believe that prostitution is inherently exploitative of women. From an ideological perspective as well as a practical one, the Swedish model is the best route to take in terms of legislation.

We referred to trafficking. Many women who are involved in prostitution do not fit the legal definition of having been trafficked, yet they did not enter the industry through free choice. Since many women entered prostitution as children, they did not consent. Coercion and deception are also issues, as are the "lover boy" type of relationships and pressure. Poverty can lead to women who are in desperate situations and with limited choices entering prostitution. Dr. Whitaker mentioned that women may choose prostitution over, for example, shoplifting or drug pushing, but the argument for free choice is not great if the only alternatives are other illegal activities. It must be acknowledged that the majority of women in prostitution have not made free choices to enter the industry.

As Deputy Ferris stated, the belief of all of the women present that we would never freely enter the sex industry is acknowledgement of how unlikely such a choice is for women. We accept that some women freely choose to do so, but the majority do not. We should legislate for the majority.

Prostitution is inherently exploitative and there is a culture of coercion and violence owing to pimps, traffickers and brothel owners. It is the idea that someone can buy another person's body to use as he or she pleases. Given the culture of prostitution, the prostitute feels that he or she cannot say "No" to whatever is suggested and must go along with it once money changes hands even though an agreement has been negotiated beforehand. This leads to a disassociation from the experience and a numbing of the physical senses. For these reasons, there is a high instance of substance abuse.

This situation is not in line with the dignity of people, particularly women. Although it is not solely women who work in the sex industry, they form the majority. The majority of buyers are men. This creates a gender dynamic whereby the bodies of women are for sale in the sex industry, a situation that relates to the wider dynamic of the objectification of women in society and the media.

We support the Swedish model. Demand could be reduced by criminalising the sex industry. Buyers have identified the risk of disclosure and gaining criminal records as a major deterrent for them. We are told that, as the buyers are ordinary men, it would be bad to criminalise them, but there is no right to a sex life if it comes at the expense of someone else's right not to be abused and exploited because he or she is in desperate circumstances. Demand can be reduced and the sex industry can be shrunk.

Legislation would send a strong message to the effect that women's bodies cannot be bought and sold, but it would help were the legislation to be supported by an educational campaign similar to Sweden's. Education on consent and sexuality needs to be in place in Irish schools so that societal norms can be changed when legislation is brought into effect.