Northern Irish research on sex work - published!

[LuckyLu]

Hello Everyone,

We have been contacted by Dr. Susann Huschke from University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg, South Africa.
She is the academic that carried out the Northern Irish research on sex work in 2014.

I am pleased to inform you, especially those who participated in the research, that the fruits of the hard work are published now.

The article on clients in Ireland can be found here: http://sex.sagepub.com/content/early...38094.abstract.

I have enclosed a copy of the article below. If you would like to read the whole article in a PDF version please PM me with your e-mail address and I shall forward you a copy.
Should you wish to contact Dr. Huschke, please feel free to do so on the e-mail address provided,

Susan and the E-I team would like to say once again a big thank you for all your support in making this research possible!!

[SteveB]

My quick initial reaction on just seeing this is that is a report on a piece of legislation, yet has the phrase “Christian morals” in its title.
It is from the very start, in my opinion, an acknowledgement that the authors believe that the legislation is more an attempt to enforce certain group’s opinion of morality than to address any other problem or mischief.

[SteveB]

"Thus, we conclude that the recent public debates on commercial sex in Ireland and the implementation of the so-called Swedish model in Northern Ireland constitute a 'moral crusade' against sex work, which is perceived as transgressing sex-negative conservative Christian moralities.
By employing negative stereotypes and ignoring the existing research evidence on men who pay for sex, promoters of the sex purchase ban have missed an opportunity to allow an open and less prejudiced debate about people's sexual desires and the social norms that shape them."

We couldn't have put it better ourselves.

But, they are preaching to the converted. The "moral majority" [or are not moral or a majority] will simply ignore this.

[Ozboy]

Hit the nail on the head!

[Empirical]

Read the pdf (thanks, Lu!).

It's an academic version of the research done for the NI Assembly, so the contents are much the same. The authors relate their findings to the influence of 'Christian morality' in N Ireland (and in RoI). They note that legislators have a particular mind set which isn't supported by the evidence they adduce, though they offer no suggestions as to how such (closed) minds might be opened.

Before the original research, Lord Morrow thought that further evidence wasn't needed; he had come to his particular conclusions. Indeed, you might well think that legislators 'do their own thing' when it comes to law-making.

The authors don't delve further into the monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) nor do they seek to question why such religions have such a heavy emphasis on the 'right' kind of sex; this is taken for granted.

Further, if you've been following the UK referendum on the EU question, you will have noticed that Michael Gove (for leave) saying that experts weren't needed, they weren't people whose evidence was useful or essential.

What is it that makes supposedly intelligent people, those people who we are supposed to trust, to ignore the evidence that is laid before them? What makes it impossible for them to pluck the planks from their eyes, and to change their opinions?

[AS17]

Totally correct, nail on the head so to speak.