New law could criminalise men for buying sex

[John Shaft]

From today's (Monday's) Irish Times

CONOR LALLY, Crime Correspondent

THE GOVERNMENT is considering radical new criminal legislation that would shift the Garda’s approach to prostitution by making it illegal for a man to buy sex but not for a woman to sell it.

The legislation would put the Garda’s emphasis on prosecuting male clients rather than targeting women working as prostitutes.

Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern has asked Attorney General Paul Gallagher to examine a report on similar laws introduced in Sweden that target male clients and have halved street prostitution over 10 years.

The Attorney General’s advice is being sought on the legal and constitutional implications of introducing the Swedish-style law here.

The Swedish legislation bans the purchase of sex by men but not the sale of sex by women, thus putting male clients at the centre of criminality around prostitution.

A delegation from the Dignity Project, which provides services to trafficked women in the Republic, visited Sweden in September along with officials from the Department of Justice.

They met Swedish officials to discuss Sweden’s evaluation of the ban on the purchase of sex some 10 years after it was first introduced there.

The delegation submitted a report on the visit to Mr Ahern and it has since been sent to the Attorney General for legal assessment with a view to implementing the ban here.

While Sweden became the first European state to ban the sale of sex in 1999, similar legislation has since been introduced in Norway and Iceland. If the same laws were introduced here, it is hoped the move would reduce the demand for sex from men because they would be more fearful of being caught.

At present the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 1993 makes it a criminal offence to solicit on the street or any other public place for the purposes of prostitution. A woman working as a prostitute can be prosecuted, as can a man trying to buy sex or a third party such as a pimp.

However, it is not a criminal offence to buy or sell sex in the Republic.

This anomaly makes it difficult for the Garda to prosecute women’s clients unless they are caught on the street.

A huge portion of the Republic’s prostitution trade is conducted behind closed doors in apartments run as brothels that are advertised online as escort services.

It is almost impossible for gardaí to prosecute those involved in that end of the trade because of its covert nature.

However, a new law introducing a clear ban on the purchase of sex would greatly aid the Garda in that regard. It would mean any evidence, such as telephone records, that emerged linking a client to a prostitute or a brothel could be used to prosecute.

Men would no longer have to be caught soliciting or kerb crawling. Women could still be prosecuted for soliciting but not for the sale of sex.

New law could criminalise men for buying sex - The Irish Times - Mon, Jan 03, 2011

[Rayden]

So how would this law affect Independant Escorts who charge for time and companionship?

[An don]

Dermot Ahern wont be there after March to see any such law go through.

[skin]

Dermot Ahern wont be there after March to see any such law go through.

True but some one else will
who is going to stand against that bill seeing as it has become public?

[John Shaft]

The law, if it comes to pass, won't affect the escorts; it's the customers who are being targeted. It is being introduced to close off a perceived loophole in the law and to give greater powers to Gardai. As we know, paying for sex is not actually illegal in Ireland right now, even though most ordinary people probably think that it is.
I wouldn't see huge cause for concern. Even if the law comes in there will still be a strong burden of proof on Gardai. Unless someone is caught handing over money, the Gardai won't have a case that will stand up in court. And they don't have the resources to effectively police it anyway. It will be a bit like possession of small amounts of cannibis - technically illegal but not something the Gardai will be really bothered enforcing. Expect to see nothing more than a handful of token arrests to placate the moral majority and to show that "the new legislation is working".
As long as punters visit trusted and reputable escorts they should be ok and the business of these ladies shouldn't suffer.

It would be interesting to see the statistics for the number of prosecutions in Sweden, Norway and Iceland since the laws were introduced in those countries.

[Rodney69]

The law, if it comes to pass, won't affect the escorts; it's the customers who are being targeted. It is being introduced to close off a perceived loophole in the law and to give greater powers to Gardai. As we know, paying for sex is not actually illegal in Ireland right now, even though most ordinary people probably think that it is.
I wouldn't see huge cause for concern. Even if the law comes in there will still be a strong burden of proof on Gardai. Unless someone is caught handing over money, the Gardai won't have a case that will stand up in court. And they don't have the resources to effectively police it anyway. It will be a bit like possession of small amounts of cannibis - technically illegal but not something the Gardai will be really bothered enforcing. Expect to see nothing more than a handful of token arrests to placate the moral majority and to show that "the new legislation is working".
As long as punters visit trusted and reputable escorts they should be ok and the business of these ladies shouldn't suffer.

It would be interesting to see the statistics for the number of prosecutions in Sweden, Norway and Iceland since the laws were introduced in those countries.

well said John Shaft, you should be called John Swift :-)
As always the focus and reason for this legislation is to target the negative aspect of the business. The trafficking of women by pimps and of course this should not be tolerated. But it assumes all escorts are forced into this business. What about the good, honest, trust worthy independent women.

It will still be very hard for the gardai who are under resourced to police it.

But if the legislation does get passed, I'm sure it will change the behaviour of a lot of clients and make them think twice.

[carlos marvado]

Dermot Ahern wont be there after March to see any such law go through.

That's right......he'll be sitting at home in Co. Louth watching the tailback of cars as southern punters head north of the border.......be sure to open your window and wave all that money that the Irish economy is loosing at him.

I think such a law could have any number of effects:

Drive escorting further into the shadows and into the hands of shadowy figures.
Reduce the number of punts/spend in ROI.
Force prices down further.
Cause an outflow of escorts/stop many coming here.
Increase the number of foreign punting trips.

[ladiesman217]

I just "love" how this legislation concentrates on trafficked girls working in the sex industry. There's not a word on those who are doing it of their own free will, not being forced into it in any way whatsoever. I know this legislation focuses on criminalising the clients, but most likely all independent escorts here will be hit hard due to this. I don't know how escorting is gonna be tied into this legislation (assuming it goes through of course), since we pay for time and companionship only, not sex.

The main reason I go to escorts (very infrequently as it may be: once/twice a year) is for the companionship. I've always been timid about asking girls out, etc, but having spent time with a few escorts now it's almost upped my confidence a bit. Now I get why this legislation is being talked about, the whole human trafficking which is completely disgusting. But as I said, for those independent people who do this on their own free will, why criminalise clients for going to see them?

[vampirejackie]

I have merged the two threads on this topic

[John Shaft]

Here's the response of the Immigrant Council of Ireland to the proposed legislation, also from the IT website.
------------------------
Group favours new prostitution law
03/01/2011IRISH TIMES REPORTERS

The Immigrant Council of Ireland (ICI) has welcomed a report in today's Irish Times that the Government is considering reforming its approach to combating sex trafficking and the exploitation of women in Ireland's sex industry.

The Government is considering radical new criminal legislation that would shift the Garda’s approach to prostitution by making it illegal for a man to buy sex but not for a woman to sell it.

The legislation would put the Garda’s emphasis on prosecuting male clients rather than targeting women working as prostitutes.

Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern has asked Attorney General Paul Gallagher to examine a report on similar laws introduced in Sweden that target male clients and have halved street prostitution over 10 years.

The Attorney General’s advice is being sought on the legal and constitutional implications of introducing the Swedish-style law here.

ICI chief executive Denise Charlton said the research revealed that about 90 per cent of the women involved in indoor prostitution are migrant women and significant numbers of women and children are being trafficked into Ireland's sex industry.

"The ICI, along with other civil society groups have been campaigning for Ireland to adopt the Swedish approach to combating sex trafficking and the exploitation of women in the sex industry by tackling the crucial link in their exploitation - the demand for paid sex - because that approach clearly works," Ms Charlton said.

"We are very pleased that the Government is seriously considering adopting legislative reform of our prostitution laws because it is clear to us, as an organisation that works with migrant women, that Ireland's current approach just wasn't working to end the exploitation of migrant women in Ireland. We strongly urge the Government to introduce these necessary reforms."