Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Más rud é go mbeidh mé críochnaithe roimh 8 a chlog, beidh an Teachta Pringle réidh chun tosnú. I acknowledge the work that has gone into this Bill and what it is trying to accomplish, especially in the protection of children. Ireland has failed very dismally in this area in the past. Like others, I want to concentrate on Part 4 which is causing a great deal of concern. I honestly admit that I find the whole idea of sex work disturbing. While I would not like my daughter, if I had one, or my sister or niece to make such a career choice, I accept that such choices are made. It is a sad reflection on our society that people buy sex and that so many young people, especially men, turn to prostitution rather than forming relationships and getting to know people before having sex with them. I suppose it is part of the culture of instant gratification of the society we live in.

I have met sex workers and I have listened to their well-articulated views and opinions. I have also listened to the various groups and organisations involved with sex workers and their rights. They make the point that consenting adults have the right to sell or purchase sexual services from other consenting adults and that all adult sex workers have the right to determine whether to stay in that work. These sex workers say they are in control and their circumstances are totally different from those of girls, women and boys who are forced or trafficked into prostitution. Those who have to sell their bodies for sex to make money for traffickers often live in appalling conditions with little or no money and poor access to health services. Many of those who had passports in the first place have had them taken away. There are sex workers who have been forced into prostitution because of their particular social circumstances. Some people are working in the sex industry as a means of feeding their addiction to alcohol, drugs or gambling. Sex workers who have been forced or trafficked into the sex industry or who have got involved in it through poverty or addiction need our support to get out of the sex industry. I have to ask what the Bill will do to facilitate that.

I understand what the Bill is trying to do. I would like to see an end to the buying and selling of sex, but I have to accept the reality that sex work happens and that there are sex workers who have decided that this is their work and that they want to be sex workers. Any sex workers I have met are totally and utterly against trafficking and forced prostitution. What will this Bill do for them and for the members of organisations like Sex Workers Alliance Ireland? They are adamant that this Bill, by criminalising those who buy their services, will be "detrimental" to their safety and "will increase risk of abuse and violence". They feel that the Bill is saying their rights and safety are worthless. They claim that the proposed legislation goes against international best practice and the advice of organisations like Amnesty International, the World Health Organization, UNAIDS, the UN special rapporteur on the right to health and the Global Commission on HIV and the Law, which is that the decriminalisation of sex work is "the preferable approach in securing, as far as possible, the safety, physical security, health and equal treatment of sex workers". That is what the various organisations are saying. This is echoed by Irish non-governmental organisations that are working with sex workers in Ireland. They are advocating for a human rights-based approach and for harm reduction measures. They are convinced that if this legislation is passed, it will lead to more attacks and violence against sex workers. They also believe it would have implications for the Garda, which is already under-resourced, in its fight against trafficking. Is the Bill considering these unintended consequences? Is it considering the concerns of sex workers who choose to be sex workers?

I would like to refer to a three-year study that was conducted by Amnesty International in four countries - Papua New Guinea, Argentina, Hong Kong and Norway - that covers a range of low, middle and high incomes. The study found that criminalisation means a rise in HIV and sexually transmitted illnesses. It means the industry goes underground, thereby pushing sex workers into dangerous situations, forcing them to work in isolation and affecting the relationship between the sex workers and the law enforcement agencies. It is considered that this proposal follows the Nordic model, but according to the Amnesty study it is more similar to the American and South African models, which criminalise everything. According to an analysis of whether the Nordic model keeps sex workers safe, the Nordic model is not as efficient as claimed and there are serious issues around the criminalising of the purchase of sex.

The Bill seems to suggest that criminalising the buyer will provide safety for the sex workers, but the sex workers say this is not so. The Bill will make the prosecution of sex workers possible in new ways. There will be more risks for street-based sex workers who are already in vulnerable positions. There will be increased penalties for loitering, so sex workers will go into more secretive and dangerous locations. Therefore, sex workers will not have control over venues. They will be forced into even more vulnerable situations because they will have to work alone.

According to a report from Sweden, which criminalised the purchase of sex in 1999, there has been an increase in the number of migrant women in sex work there. The report acknowledges that it is difficult to conclude whether the legislation has had any real impact and suggests very seriously that the legislation is opening sex workers even further to traffickers. The Norwegian Government's own evaluation of the legislation in that country found that the law is leading sex workers to be increasingly dependent on traffickers. It has seen no appreciable difference in the number of cases of trafficking for the purposes of sex since the legislation was introduced.

I refer also to the work of HIV Ireland. Last year the organisation produced a report with overwhelming evidence that criminalisation of sex work leads to the further spread of HIV and AIDS. Separately, a survey of sex workers in Northern Ireland showed 98% of those surveyed opposed the new law criminalising clients - this was one and a half years ago - while 61% of local sex workers thought the Swedish model directed at those who buy sex would make them less safe.

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