Open letter to Ruhama

[BACMAN36]

Yesterday 370 police officers raided 140 brothels. One of the aims of these raids was to rescue trafficked ladies. If we are to believe all the hype, the country is awash with trafficked ladies under the control of brutal pimps.

Lets look at some figures:

Today there are 576 female escorts advertising on EI. I think this figure might be a little low today due to the recent publicity. To keep matters simple let's say there is an average of 650 ladies advertising daily.

Lets say there are 50 real independent ladies - independent as in keeping all their earnings, working alone, organising and paying for their own photos, accomadation and advertising etc. This figure is a complete guesstimate, out of my head.

650 less 50 indies leaves 600 ladies.

It is possible that some ladies have dublicate profiles, lets take a guess - 100 profiles duplicated.

600 less 100 duplicates = 500 ladies.

Are we to believe that there are 500 trafficked / pimped ladies in the country. If you have 140 brothels and put 3.5 ladies (I dread to think how a pimp gets 1/2 a lady) into each one you end up with 490 ladies! Maybe the figures do stack up

How come with 500 trafficked ladies/victims in the country the police could only find 3 ladies to rescue - a success rate of 0.6%.

Not great is it?

[Violette]

That's because Ruhama have been for years slightly over exaggerating the figures to secure funding. Now this exercise has proven beyond a doubt that they have been talking bollox. I can't wait to see how they spin this.

[WatWatWat]

That's because Ruhama have been for years slightly over exaggerating the figures to secure funding. Now this exercise has proven beyond a doubt that they have been talking bollox. I can't wait to see how they spin this.

obviously someone in the gardai and psni tipped off all the pimps who when out that night and secured appartments and proper paper work for all their working girls..

[BACMAN36]

That's because Ruhama have been for years slightly over exaggerating the figures to secure funding. Now this exercise has proven beyond a doubt that they have been talking bollox. I can't wait to see how they spin this.

Pretty much the point I was trying to make.

Btw I don't really expect a response from them!

[LaBelleThatcher]

PS. You evaded my question on TV last night:
***
Is she seriously trying to suggest that when a woman has to sell sex because she has no other choice it will help them in some way to take their income away?
***

- waffling on about being aware of that and that being why Ruhama offer a list of services -

But let's get real, just how many women is Ruhama equipped and able to find jobs with reasonable remuneration for? In the real world, in the middle of a recession? In fact, let us have an exact figure on how many you found jobs for in the past year - you can tweet it as a part of your customary, and frequently immediate, reaction to anything posted here.

Then let us move beyond that to another point. You refuse to respect and acknowledge sex workers as intelligent women fully capable of forming their own opinions and making the best, good, healthy decisions about their own lives, but that does not change the fact that the majority of sex workers want absolutely nothing to do with Ruhama.

Who can blame them? Day after day they watch you:

• Campaign to take away their livelihood against their needs and best interests.
• Validate tabloids journalism that make devastating attacks on their private lives and families for profit.
• Encourage and endorse bullying and abuse by anyone as long as the support your agenda.
• Take advantage of the stigma that make it almost impossible for sex workers to expose themselves to misrepresent them at will.
• Set yourselves above sex workers as better placed to know their minds and make their decisions for them than they are.

Sex workers are not blind, deaf and stupid. They see the constant stream of invalidation, hypocrisy and lies for exactly what it is. It is hardly a healthy choice to place your life at the mercy of anyone who consistently shows such scant respect and regard for you on every level. It is not even a healthy choice to trust anyone who is prepared to treat you that way.

You have no real "better life" to offer sex workers anyway, so why not take your hands off the lives they have worked hard to make for themselves?

[LaBelleThatcher]

That's because Ruhama have been for years slightly over exaggerating the figures to secure funding. Now this exercise has proven beyond a doubt that they have been talking bollox. I can't wait to see how they spin this.

The reason I added a PS to this is because, when one of my questions did get asked last night, the only answer boiled down to:
"Give Ruhama more funding and we will be sort them all out"

Despite the fact that sex workers want nothing to do with them, and even if they did, Ruhama would have nothing adequate or healthy to offer however much money you throw at them.

[Dub Lad]

3 ladies saved is a great success to me, I know I know Ruhama this that and the other but the gardai did save 3 ladies that's something to be happy about and I for one am. The gardai did a good job no?

[Dub Lad]

Oh and Ruhama andthe gardai I see as seperate entities if the gardai raid a place and save genuine traffiked girls I'm sure it's down to them and their information and intelligence not so much with ruhama

[LaBelleThatcher]

3 ladies saved is a great success to me, I know I know Ruhama this that and the other but the gardai did save 3 ladies that's something to be happy about and I for one am. The gardai did a good job no?

Not really Dub Lad...because the three ladies (only suspected as victims) were in the north under the PSNI...and last time they brought a successful conviction for trafficking it was against a man who arranged flights and accommodation at the ladies' own request, and even the Judge stated there was no suggestion of coercion.

The only real good to come out of yesterday was that is proves, beyond question, any of these "97% of sex workers are trafficked against their will" claims are utter b*l*x.

[BACMAN36]

3 ladies saved is a great success to me, I know I know Ruhama this that and the other but the gardai did save 3 ladies that's something to be happy about and I for one am. The gardai did a good job no?

Agree with your principle Dub Lad.

If only one lady is saved, then.....result.

My point here though is that with all the resources (370 officers) raiding 140 brothels and they still only saved 3 ladies.

When you take that in the context of 600-700 ladies advertising, something doesn't stack up.