Robbing agency & increasing isolation: why it is too early to criminalise the purchase of sexual services in Ireland

The Joint Committee for Justice, Defence and Equality recently recommended that the purchase of sexual services be made a criminal offence in Ireland. The criminalisation of the purchase of sexual services aims to decrease demand for sexual services by prosecuting buyers. The supporters of criminalisation believe it is the way forward in ending all sex work and human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation.  Sweden was the first country to criminalise the purchase of sexual services in 1999. Norway followed in 2009.

As the majority of sex workers worldwide, and in Ireland are women, supporters of criminalisation believe the commercial sex industry is a construct of our patriarchal society and consider it to be the violent oppression of women by men.  Sex work, therefore is considered a barrier to real gender equality. If all sex work is considered as violent exploitation then a person working in the industry is never willing or has never freely given consent.

The hearings held by the Joint Committee, and the many submissions they received, detail a disturbing reality for sex workers and a truly horrific experience of people trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation in Ireland. I consider these categories as distinctly different. To conflate them is both an incredible insult to people who have been trafficked and to those sex workers who have made a conscious choice to sell sex. People who have been trafficked and forced into sexual services have been essentially raped continuously for the monetary benefit of another individual or group. Sex workers are people who for whatever reason have made a choice to enter sex work and/or remain working in the sex industry.

There are many organisations and government services in Ireland which have regular contact with sex workers and people trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation. These organisations and service providers have a wealth of knowledge and experience of the sex industry in Ireland and understand the reality for those working or being forced to work in it. They have supported many people in accessing essential services and assisted some in leaving the sex industry. The majority of these organisations support the criminalisation of the purchase of sexual services. I don’t.

The Swedish and Norwegian examples are consistently held up as best practice for Ireland.  Evidence that the criminalisation of the purchase of sexual services has decreased levels of demand for sexual services in Sweden is limited to anecdotal and vague reports produced by the Swedish Ministry of Justice. There has been a general assertion that street sex work has been reduced. This may be the case either because it has been pushed indoors due to criminalisation or because the very nature of sex work has transformed due to the introduction of mobile phones and the internet in the last ten years. The 2010 report published by the Swedish Ministry of Justice provides no data or concrete evidence for its findings.

The Norwegian NGO Pro Sentret, in its 2012 report, highlighted the many problems experienced by sex workers since criminalisation came into force in 2009. The report only focused on women working in the sex industry. This narrow gender focus is consistent in the majority of publications and reports on the state of sex work in Scandinavia and in Ireland. The sex workers surveyed by Pro Sentret reported feelings of isolation and a loss of power. A reduction in clients just after criminalisation came into force changed the dynamics of the market. Fewer clients meant increased competition among sex workers. The clients that left the market were those workers considered ‘good’ clients. ‘Good’ clients were non-violent customers who respected the terms of a transaction once they were set. After criminalisation sex workers were left to sell to more ‘bad’ clients who had violent tendencies and did not respect the boundaries set by the worker. As there were fewer clients to sell to  the power dynamic  changed between seller and buyer. With fewer buyers, sex workers took more risks, with clients they were uneasy with and with unprotected sex. Sex workers shared less and less information among themselves about dangerous clients as they became more competitive with each other for work. In addition, in order to keep their customers away from the police the women worked more and more alone in isolated locations.

In Ireland there has been no significant research investigating the sex industry or the people who work in it. In particular men and transgender people are completely absent from the discussion on the criminalisation of the purchase of sexual services. Male and transgender sex workers do nott fit so neatly into the arguments for criminalisation. The internet has transformed the commercial sex industry in Western Europe. Ireland is no different. The internet makes it more difficult to connect and engage with sex workers. Keeping the lines of communication open between sex workers, support services and the police is of the upmost importance for the safety and protection of everyone. Sex workers can provide the police with essential information regarding violence and any suspicions of human trafficking. Criminalising sex workers’ clients will severely damage the relationship between sex workers and the police. If you are selling something that is illegal to buy how can you not feel that you are doing something illegal? If the police intercept you as you are working how can you not feel like a criminal?

The Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality made a number of recommendations to the Minister for legal reform in the area of sex work and human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation. When I first read the recommendations I was speechless. I could not believe after all the submissions and hearings the committee had read and heard that they had come to these conclusions.
Firstly, the Committee recommended that the purchase of sexual services be criminalised in Ireland. Out of the other eight recommendations the following four are the most worrying. The committee recommended that provision should be made in law for the following:

• an offence of recklessly permitting a premises to be used for the purposes of prostitution
• the regulation and inspection of premises advertised as massage parlours so as to eliminate those used for prostitution
• power for the An Garda Síochána to have disabled or vested in them any telephone number in use in the State that is suspected on reasonable grounds of being used for the purposes of prostitution
• that the accessing of web sites – whether located in the State or abroad – that advertise prostitution in the State should be treated in the same way as accessing sites that advertise or distribute child pornography.

Essentially the committee recommends that people who provide accommodation to sex workers should be criminalised, that phones used by sex workers should be disabled by the Gardaí, that any business advertised as a massage parlour needs to be regulated and inspected in case they are also selling sexual services and lastly and unbelievably they recommend that browsing a website which advertises sexual services from adults should be equated with accessing sites which advertise child pornography.

Does the committee want to see who they deem exploited, vulnerable and oppressed people homeless and without mobile phones, exposed to isolation with no way of contacting emergency help? What is a massage parlour? Is it a place that only provides massage services or will all beauty salons be considered subject to the same regulation or inspection. Equating child pornography with advertisements displayed by adults for sexual services is truly, truly appalling.

I would need more space and time to properly analyse all the issues associated with the recommendations above. I am sure many others are working on it as I write. I wrote this because I do not agree with the road this debate and Joint Committee has taken. I believe many people from all perspectives who have an interest in the debate on sex work in Ireland have many concerns and views in common.  Call me naïve but I feel that people are just so passionate and convinced of their views that they simply cannot begin to contemplate any alternatives. I do not believe the situation is hopeless. I think it is possible to bring sides together in a safe forum for an honest discussion about the consequences of criminalisation for sex workers.

It has become very difficult to openly question or criticise the arguments, analysis and evidence of the supporters of criminalisation. This is not because these arguments are rock solid or stand up to careful inspection. Not at all. It because of the fear of being told if you do not agree with them you support sexual exploitation and the violent oppression of women. Supporters of criminalisation believe those questioning criminalisation are simply liberal feminists who are deluded and so privileged they cannot understand the depths of exploitation among sex workers. I am privileged and may very well be deluded but I haven’t seen enough proof yet. I have no doubt that the sex industry in Ireland can be a very dangerous place where workers are exposed to violence and rape. I do not fail to see the serious issues and problems needed to be addressed within sex work in Ireland. I also understand the serious need to address human trafficking in all its forms in Ireland. Prosecutions have been very difficult and victims identified are often left without adequate support and protection.

A sex worker I am not. I have no idea what it is like to sell sex. I have no idea what it feels like to look at all your options and make the choice to sell sex. All I have done is read, researched and analysed. I would love to live in a country where all people have a range of job opportunities or choices to pick from. Many sex workers sell sex because they don’t feel they have any alternative way of supporting themselves or their families. How will criminalisation broaden their options or assist them in doing what they want to do with their lives? From my limited perspective it is too early to legislate. I failed to see the creation of a safe space for sex workers to speak about their experiences and how they feel about the sex industry in Ireland and their place in it. I failed to hear the testimonies or experiences of more than ten people currently working in the industry. Many supporters of criminalisation say there are around 1000 women available (no figures on men or transgender workers) to sell sex every day. Surely we need to hear from more workers before making major decisions which will significantly affect their lives? Why are we rushing to legislate on an area we genuinely know little about?  Why force workers underground in isolation? Why can the government not leave the proposed legislation to one side and facilitate an open and honest discussion between current sex workers, the support services and police about the state of the industry and the needs and rights of the workers?  The current state of the debate has done damage. If I was a sex worker in Ireland no way would I feel comfortable to step out and speak about my experiences, my work and what I think is best for the future for sex work.  I would definitely not walk into the Dáil or Senate.

It is 2013 and yet again we are set on further stigmatising a minority group in this country. If you use the argument that selling sex for money is inherently wrong and oppressive to women then should you not openly discuss the more complicated links between sex, money and relationships outside the commercial sex industry?  Pro-criminalisation campaigners seem to forget all too easily that men sell sex to men, men sell sex to women and transgender sex workers sell sex to men and women.

If sex workers want to know their rights, access their rights and collectively fight for their rights, those that work on the frontline must assist them.  If you truly care about the people you serve you must allow them to lead your work and establish their own priorities. Adult sex workers are not infantile victims. They have more knowledge and expertise of the sex industry than anyone else yet they have been pushed around, ‘rescued’ and told what they need and what they want time and time again. They can not be further stigmatised and isolated from support services and the Gardaí. We will punish the most vulnerable in order to avoid an uncomfortable discussion about sex, money and power. Instead of dealing with the whys of selling and purchasing sexual services we are simply slapping a plaster on the hows.