Good News - Disgusting TORL adverts taken off air!

[LaBelleThatcher]

Thank you Pidge for seeing that these radio ads were wrong and taking the time to make a complaint about them.

I agree with his rationale as well, it makes sense for loads of other reasons.

[Patricia]

I agree with his rationale as well, it makes sense for loads of other reasons.

It shows us all what we can do too. I for one would never have thought to complain about that advert, but Pidge has shown us ads like this can be complained about and taken off air successfully, because they are wrong, for more reasons that I'd have thought about. With all the money Ruhama and co. have to spend on PR etc, it can seem like they are so above the ordinary person there is not much that can be done, but he is a great example of an ordinary person who did make a difference.

[LaBelleThatcher]

It shows us all what we can do too. I for one would never have thought to complain about that advert, but Pidge has shown us ads like this can be complained about and taken off air successfully, because they are wrong, for more reasons that I'd have thought about. With all the money Ruhama and co. have to spend on PR etc, it can seem like they are so above the ordinary person there is not much that can be done, but he is a great example of an ordinary person who did make a difference.

That was my first reaction too...Ruhama and TORL are *NOT* a law unto themselves, though I think they almost had us convinced there!

I am genuinely almost speechless with...relief...that someone has finally made that point.

[samlad]

So, the question is, what is the rationale behind all this funding for Ruhama? Certainly not for helping as many 'victims' of sex work related incidences as they have made out. Is there any need for a Swedish model now?

[LaBelleThatcher]

As far as I can tell Samlad, they were, somewhat misguidedly, allocated 4 years of funding in 2008 in respect of the 2008 trafficking legislation...which, of course, runs out this year.

It would have been extremelly difficult to withdraw that funding before it ran out.

However, while organisations like Ruhama were not looking the world they once preyed upon has been changing. The boom is over, things are bad and set to get worse. Available resources *must* be allocated to essential services.

Lobbying the government independent of the wishes, or involvement, of any claims to a user group is hardly an "essential service".

There is literally no money to go on funding superfluous organisations like Ruhama and redundant Immigration organisations to waste resources on junketing each other and making demands for compliance with their current ideological fads.

The level of deceit routinely employed towards this end is just as obvious to the relevant decision makers as it is to us.

[Lincoln]

The really outrageous thing about those adds, in my opinion is, how someone can recite one flat unsubstantiated assertion after another predicated on the belief that no one will oppose this view. Smug, condescending and completely childish at its bottom level.

So much for informed debate...

Kudos to Pidge.

[Violette]

Allow me to interject a little bit of cynicism here for a moment. Let's just say, as media savvy as Ruhama are, could this be something they instigated to have the ads removed? Let's be honest, last week's fiasco of a rescue operation has put the spotlight on them in an unfavourable fashion. They would, if they were smart, be on the hop to implement some serious damage control.

Last weeks operation highlight exactly the opposite of what they and been banging on about for the last 4 years. It proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that the concept of the trafficked sex worker, at least in Ireland is a myth, and even Joe and Jane Public, with busy lives to lead, can see this for the crock of shit it really is.

Ruhama, shot themselves in the foot with this one, I predict them fading quietly into the wood work if they were smart. There are too many necessary services that may have been delayed to fund their witchhunt against women trying to make a living in trying economic times. This will backfire on them in an unpleasant way.

[samlad]

Allow me to interject a little bit of cynicism here for a moment. Let's just say, as media savvy as Ruhama are, could this be something they instigated to have the ads removed? Let's be honest, last week's fiasco of a rescue operation has put the spotlight on them in an unfavourable fashion. They would, if they were smart, be on the hop to implement some serious damage control.

Last weeks operation highlight exactly the opposite of what they and been banging on about for the last 4 years. It proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that the concept of the trafficked sex worker, at least in Ireland is a myth, and even Joe and Jane Public, with busy lives to lead, can see this for the crock of shit it really is.

Ruhama, shot themselves in the foot with this one, I predict them fading quietly into the wood work if they were smart. There are too many necessary services that may have been delayed to fund their witchhunt against women trying to make a living in trying economic times. This will backfire on them in an unpleasant way.

Agreed with all of the above. I haven't yet seen Ruhama post anything in response to the outcome of the checks (not raids, as the media portray it), but perhaps I've missed it? If Ruhama are genuine, they would surely embrace the results of this operation and breathe a huge sigh of relief, given that the trafficking levels don't reflect the hype that the public were led to believe.

What does puzzle me is why isn't the Sunday World as quick to publish the outcome of this all over the front pages of their paper? They were quick-fire enough to publish a picture of an escort in the window of a building outside the Garda Station!

[Violette]

Agreed with all of the above. I haven't yet seen Ruhama post anything in response to the outcome of the checks (not raids, as the media portray it), but perhaps I've missed it? If Ruhama are genuine, they would surely embrace the results of this operation and breathe a huge sigh of relief, given that the trafficking levels don't reflect the hype that the public were led to believe.

What does puzzle me is why isn't the Sunday World as quick to publish the outcome of this all over the front pages of their paper? They were quick-fire enough to publish a picture of an escort in the window of a building outside the Garda Station!

The other thing we need to keep an eye out for, is a reorganisation of Ruhama into a different incarnation so to speak. They need to keep the funds rolling in, so I would be surprised if in about 3 months time some along the lines of some pseudo-sex work organisation pops up. Targeting the ladies here. The people can be sneaky that way.

Sunday world, print proper journalism, perish the thought.

[Doozer]

Im surprised Ruhama in these times are still getting funding

Surely the 'welfare check' has shown with its three arrests that the stats of trafficking have been grosley over estimated and with everyone in trouble , eg Hse and other heath services including child care for those in the system who could be lost in the cracks. Government spending by way of funding Ruhama could be better spent,