Sex worker Laura Lee is more than just a sexy lady. She’s incredibly intelligent and is using her smarts to fight for the rights of sex workers. In fact, she has been arguing against bringing in the Swedish model since it first gained attention in both Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Even though the law is set to come into effect in Northern Ireland on the 1st June, she hasn’t stopped. In fact, she’s ready to take the fight further and is ready to launch her legal challenge against it.
What the law means
The law, which has been championed by Stormont assembly member and Democratic Unionist peer Lord Morrow, will be effective from the 1st June, and will make purchasing sexual services illegal.
It will make it the only region in the UK where people can be convicted of paying for sex, and while many countries are dismissing the law, others are starting to take notice and want to bring it in.
If you are caught paying for sex you could face a fine and, in the more extreme cases, a prison sentence. They think that, by removing the demand for sexual services, the supply will be removed too.
While many are saying that they want to bring in this law to “protect sex workers” and to help those involved in human trafficking, in reality it will simply push the industry further underground. People are simply not taking the time to understand exactly what sex work is, and are instead falling into the trap of assuming all sex workers are forced into it and have no other choice. Thank you, media!
“Unprecedented Legal Challenge”
Laura Lee is going to launch her own legal challenge against this law, using European human rights legislation to try and have it overturned. She will be launching the case at the Belfast high court in June.
When asked why she was doing this, she said “I believe that when two consenting adults have sex behind closed doors and if money changes hands then that is none of the state’s business. The law they have introduced has nothing to do with people being trafficked by simply on their, the DUP’s, moral abhorrence of paid sex.”
She went on to say how she thinks the law will change the industry when it comes into effect. “I believe that after June 1st, sex workers’ lives in Northern Ireland will actually be harder and the industry will be pushed underground.”
This isn’t just a small step for sex work. This is an unprecedented legal challenge. It has never ever been done before, and we all have our fingers crossed that it will be successful.
The truth about sex work
Whether the case is successful or not, Laura Lee hopes that this case “will put a big dent in the campaign to bring in this law across the border in the Republic.”
She talks about why this anti-sex work campaign is really being launched, saying that “there is a massive propaganda campaign to claim that north and south in Ireland sex workers are women who are trafficked into the country. This is total nonsense.”
“In 2014 there wasn’t a single arrest in connection with sex trafficking in Northern Ireland. The majority of sex workers like myself are independent and 70% are single mothers trying to earn a living in these hard times. No one has the right to take that option away from them.”
Well said, Laura!
A tough fight ahead
We are all behind Laura with this tough fight ahead, but it seems that Lord Morrow is making moves of his own. He recently said that “if Europe or any other court did this they would be ignoring the will of the people and the overwhelming majority of those in the Northern Ireland Assembly.”
However, Laura Lee’s legal team will be using the European convention on human rights to challenge the law and hopefully have it overturned.
Here at Escort Ireland we wish Laura the best of luck and will be keeping a close eye on what happens in June. Do you support Laura’s campaign? Let us know by leaving a comment in the box below, or you can visit the Escort Ireland forum and share your thoughts there.
You can keep up to date with Laura’s fight by visiting the Laura Lee guest blog.
Since then she has gained a fine reputation with her blogs on sex advice, sexual health and amusing news stories from around the globe. She is also a campaigner for the rights of sex workers from all over the world.
In her spare time, Lara keeps herself active by going running, and is something of a film buff. She also loves to go travelling.
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