Originally Posted by
Dom Dunn
Good article which is fairly definitive in terms of its conclusion.
With respect to the proposed new section 7A "payment etc. for sexual activity with a prostitute which creates an offence for a person "who pays,gives, offers or promises to pay a person (including a prostitute) is somewhat unclear. Does it mean that it is a crime to pay "any person" for sex or is it only a crime to pay a certain "class of person" i.e. a prostitute for sex.
The proposed legislation does not define prostitute but it does define "sexual activity" and the definition is fairly vague which appears to allow scope for the cops to bust a wide range of persons who may not consider themselves to be prostitutes e.g lap dancers.
To my relatively untrained legal eye this appears rather more political than legal in content and is certain to be challenged in the courts. I think Fitzgerald is well out of her depth on this and there was good reasons why the much maligned previous MOJ kicked to touch on this one.
Fitzgerald is abundantly out of her depth!
If the relevant section makes it illegal to pay/promise to pay for sex with a 'prostitute' then we would be back in a situation which was thrown out by the supreme court in the past, i.e. the concept of a 'common Prostitute'! Technically, if that was the wording and I offered her 50 cents for OWO with a full swallow, I wouldnt br doing anything illegal because as far as we know the lovely Minister is not and has never been a 'prostitute'! Also surely to be categorised for ever more as a prostitute, you would have to be convicted as one in the first place and how can you be permanently described as one forever?
Fitgerald is a 'conviction' politician and the one major conviction that she has on this one is that she is a feminist, but a 'feminist' on her own terms!
Ride them on the beaches!