Seanad debates

Friday, 11 December 2015

Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage

 

10:00 am

Photo of Ivana BacikIvana Bacik (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome amendment No. 26, which the Minister had flagged on Second Stage and which was requested by the Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality. I also welcome those in the Gallery who have been involved in moving forward this law reform, particularly the Immigrant Council of Ireland, Ruhama and the Turn Off the Red Light campaign. We debated the policy behind the provisions of sections 20 and 21 on Second Stage and they are very welcome to target demand and to criminalise the purchase but not the sale of sexual services. I see amendment No. 26 as very important in confirming that policy because, as the Minister of State has said, it will decriminalise services as a prostitute by making that amendment to section 1 of the 1993 Act. That is very important. As the Minister has said, it will bring this jurisdiction into line with the law in Northern Ireland and in Sweden and other Nordic countries that have taken a similar approach to tackling demand. To stress that again, the women and men engaged in prostitution and the sale of sexual services will be themselves decriminalised. Sometimes those who criticise the Nordic approach have suggested this is all about criminalising clients. Offences around the purchase of sex are already criminalised.

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