Mr. Daniel McCartney:

The EMIS of 2010 was the largest such survey ever conducted. Of the over 180,000 respondents across Europe, approximately 7% indicated that they had bought sex from another man, while in the region of 5% stated they had sold sex to another man within the previous 12 months. Some 4% indicated that, while abroad, they had paid men for sex. A further 2% said they had received payment while abroad. In the case of Ireland, the Real Lives survey conducted in 2004 and the EMIS of 2010 of over 2,600 respondents show that between 9% and 11% of men who had had sex with men were involved in buying or selling sex. In the EMIS 4.7% of men who had had sex with men indicated that they had paid for sex, while 4.1% said they had been paid for sex. Men who have sex with men in Ireland live in all parts of the country - with almost half residing in Dublin; up to one quarter were not born on the island of Ireland; just over two thirds are only attracted to men, while three quarters identified themselves as being gay. The survey also showed that three quarters were not in a steady relationship, while 6% of those who had been paid for sex and 8% who had paid for sex were in a relationship with a woman. The locations where these men were most likely to meet for sex included websites, saunas and bars, while they were much less likely to meet in public places. Most importantly, 44% of those who had been paid for sex had not been tested for HIV. This compares to a figure of 28% for those who had paid for sex and had not been tested. This was also greater than the figure for the overall survey, namely, 38% of those sampled had never been tested for HIV. The position on sexually transmitted infections was similar. In that context, some 50% of those who had been paid for sex had not been tested, while 38% of those who had paid for sex had not been tested. The overall figure in this regard for all of those sampled was 42%. Significantly, men who have sex with men who had been paid for sex were less likely to access services for a variety of reasons, including stigma. These data appears to agree with international experience to the effect that sex workers often find accessing services such as HIV and sexual health services difficult owing to real or perceived stigmatisation on the part of health workers, a general social stigma or discrimination within society.

Men who have sex with men who buy and sell sex are very much part of the gay and bisexual male community and are, therefore, difficult to distinguish. Both groups access the GMHS and other sexual health services. Each group has significant health needs in the context of HIV prevention and sexual health. Access to support, sexual health and support services, including information, condoms and lubricants, is vital. Reports show that those who use services and are tested are more informed and inclined to look after themselves. Introducing further legislation would inhibit this and make it more difficult to access services or supports. Legislation may delay people attending, especially if they have symptoms or if they are obliged to search out what facility they can attend for STI services. In addition, they would be reluctant to discuss or make disclosures about the type of sex in which they engaged. Legislation would also directly affect the statutory notification process. I refer in this regard to the syphilis notification form which requests information on commercial sex. Furthermore, legislation could create a further stigma and impede the destigmatisation process advanced by the National AIDS Strategy Committee, NASC, and the HSE-Gay Health Network programme.

All of these issues are covered in various Irish, European and international reports, including the UNAIDS report 2012, the recent WHO guidelines and the final report of the UNDP Commission on HIV and the law, which was published in 2012. I strongly urge the committee to review these reports, all of which call for decriminalisation of sex work and the establishment of laws to protect against discrimination, violence and other rights violations faced by sex workers.