A huge problem and something which I didn't realise until this issue arose in Stormont, is that while a court of law requires proof, the process of making law doesn't.
Some of the statements and figures used to justify clause 15 are just plain ridiculous, but no-one seriously challenged them in the chamber. Most MLAs voted without having a clue on the issues. They just knew they disagreed with sex work and that was enough to justify bringing in bad law based on lies and half-truths.
As far as the quoted statistics are concerned, three suspected (not proven) cases is three too many but Sweden has proved (though won't admit) that 'ending demand' doesn't work. In fairness to Sweden and more recently Canada, neither made any secret of the fact their legislation is about disapproval of sex work, rather than coercive trafficking, which is a minority issue.
To quote Canadian Conservative senator Donald Plett last summer; ''We don't want to make life safe for prostitutes. We want to do away with prostitution. That's the intent of the bill.'' In other words sex worker safety comes a poor second to his moral objections. He may be an arsehole but at least he's an honest one.
2014 in Northern Ireland:
Number of reported attacks on sex workers 70
Number of sex trafficking cases ZERO
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