1. What do you think about our sex work laws? 
  2. Are you aware of the Sex Workers Alliance Ireland (SWAI), the only front-line, sex worker-led organisation in Ireland?
  3. Are you aware that when sex workers must work alone to work legally? 100% of sex workers SWAI speaks to want the option to work with a friend. Two sex workers were given a jail sentence in 2019, one of whom was pregnant. 
  4. Are you aware that almost all of the people who have been prosecuted under our brothel-keeping laws are young, migrant women? Not traffickers, not pimps but the very people that our laws are supposed to “rescue”. Did you realise that many more sex workers due to brothel-keeping laws have been arrested than their clients?   
  5. Are you aware that since the laws changed in 2017 there has been a 92% increase in violent crime against sex workers? Are you aware that there has also been a near 20% decrease in willingness to report to Gardai? 
  6. During the pandemic, we got a taste of what End Demand looks like. Most sex workers in Ireland were unable to access government supports and over half were unable to give up sex work. Did our sex work laws help sex workers during this frightening time?
  7. Do you support the rights of sex workers, beyond them exiting sex work? What do you think sex workers would need to leave sex work or to not engage in the first place? 
  8. Are you aware that there is a review of the law currently underway? Will you push for SWAI and currently working sex workers to be involved in the review? Our voices were actively excluded from the consultation when the law was introduced.

 

Politicians will try and avoid answers to hard questions so you can use this opportunity to inform them

We have made a handy printable guide so you can stick this on your door and be ready for whenever politicians call to your home looking for a vote. 

For the second year in a row Ireland languishes in the Tier 2 Watchlist of the Trafficking in Persons report. Ireland has still not persecuted anyone for trafficking in 7 years and this year marks the fewest trafficking victims identified since 2013. 

Aoife Bloom, sex worker and spokesperson for the Sex Workers Alliance Ireland (SWAI) says “This report highlights how the Nordic Model of client criminalisation has failed. The law was brought in with great fanfare as it sought to end the exploitation of people in the sex industry by ending demand. Since then victim identification has fallen and anecdotally we know that Garda intelligence on trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation has decreased since the introduction of this law. Violence against sex workers has also increased by 92% in that time. 

“The Trafficking in Persons report and experts acknowledge that Direct Provision is unsuitable accommodation for trafficking victims, which is a tacit acknowledgement that Direct Provision can compound trauma and is not fit for purpose. We support the Movement for Asylum Seekers (MASI) and other organisations’ calls to End Direct Provision.

“We welcomed the news earlier this year on the introduction of the National Referral mechanism and we anticipate the inclusion of NGOs who do not conflate all sex work with sex trafficking. We also support the report’s call for an exemption for crimes committed while trafficked, as we know in Northern Ireland a woman was convicted of trafficking while being a victim of trafficking herself, and migrants have been prosecuted for working in cannabis grow houses while being labour trafficked.

“The government didn’t initiate any prosecutions for labour trafficking in 2020 but has spent significant money on ‘Awareness-raising’ schemes. The fishing industry has been highlighted as a site of exploitation by NGO’s working with migrants yet no trafficking victims were identified in 2020.”

“Sex workers have not been included as part of Ireland’s anti-trafficking forum. Sex workers and sex worker-led organisations need to be recognised as a vital part of anti-trafficking efforts. Unfortunately, Ireland’s anti-trafficking efforts intersect with our repressive laws which seek to prohibit all sex work. This conflation of sex work and sex trafficking makes sex workers more vulnerable to exploitation and violence by pushing their livelihood underground, it also diverts resources away from fighting trafficking and prolongs the suffering and exploitation of trafficking victims. In fact, these laws have focused almost exclusively on young migrant sex workers working together for safety.

“Sex workers can be an ally in anti-trafficking efforts but we are unutilised and over-policed, making more difficult for us to report exploitation. 

“Sex trafficking is a complex and abhorrent crime and the solutions to trafficking in Ireland lie in prevention. Oppressive border controls and lack of legal migration avenues, as well as poverty and addiction increase trafficking. SWAI also calls for a firewall between immigration and other parts of the justice system so that undocumented people who have been exploited, assaulted or raped do not fear deportation.

“Sex work must be recognised as work so that sex workers can enjoy the same labour rights as other workers. In other sectors, strong unions and proper reporting mechanisms have a role to play in ending exploitation. But as sex workers operate in a partially criminalised environment we cannot organise like other workers. Separating out sex trafficking from other forms of trafficking has created laws that make us more vulnerable. 

“SWAI continues our call to decriminalise sex work to ensure the health and safety of consensual sex workers and those exploited in the sex industry. The focus on clients and sex workers working together for safety does nothing to combat trafficking. Decriminalisation of sex work will not decriminalise trafficking but will allow sex workers to report exploitation without fear.”

Press release in speech bubble

Sex Workers Alliance Ireland (SWAI) Welcomes Minister McEntee’s Initiativeto Expunge 607 Convictions for the Sale of Sex but says it does not go far enough. 

The Criminal Law Sexual Offenses Act 2017 criminalised the purchase of sex and nearly tripled penalties for sex workers working in pairs or groups. In the late stages of the passing of the bill SWAI managed to succeed in getting decriminalisation of outdoor workers as an amendment, despite it not being the original intention of the law.

Kate McGrew, Director SWAI: “We can assume that the convictions that are being overturned are instead for outdoor workers, and not for workers sharing a workspace, as under this law they face tripled penalties, and potential jail time, We have seen workers serving sentences under this law since its inception in 2017. However outdoor workers are criminalised in a number of other ways, including under COVID regulations.

For sex workers who would like to move on to other work, a criminal record is a major obstacle in doing so. SWAI demands that criminal records for brothel-keeping also be expunged, as this is defined as criminalisation of merely co-working, and this is where the majority of sex worker convictions have occurred since 2017. This law continues to force us to work alone if we are to work legally.” 

SWAI advocates for full decriminalisation of the sex industry, including a reversal of client criminalisation, which criminalises our income and pushes us deeper into precarity,  in order to remove barriers to justice. Worldwide evidence has shown that this is the best legislative model for best outcomes for a marginalised and diverse population.”

Back in July, the Sex Workers Alliance Ireland (SWAI) held a webinar to launch a new harm reduction resource we developed in collaboration with GOSHH in Limerick and Sexual Health Centre in Cork. The information card provides practical advice for anyone selling or trading sex on the street or outdoors during the pandemic and was created by a group which included current street workers, other sex workers and support workers with experience in this area.

When the pandemic started, harm reduction guidelines appeared online with advice for sex workers who continued in-person sex work out of necessity. Here in SWAI, our outreach worker Becky joined up with Billie, the support worker in GOSHH, as they realised that there was nothing available with specific information for people working on the street. More people joined the group and, in writing the guidelines, we focused on simple steps people could take to reduce the risk of COVID transmission, to protect themselves when selling sex. There is no way to guarantee safety when you’re in close contact but people still need to make money and these are just some tips for keeping yourself safer while working. The tips are also not just relevant for sex workers, they can be useful for anyone because, of course, people are still having sex even in a global pandemic! The information can be especially helpful for anyone meeting others for sex outdoors or in cars.

The leaflet is COVID-19 specific so all of the advice is focused on reducing the risk of contracting COVID but this needs to be taken into consideration alongside protecting yourself in terms of your overall health and physical safety. Sex workers are used to risk assessing and making judgements for their own safety, and often go by gut instinct. This new information isn’t supposed to override all of that and we always stress that your immediate physical safety takes priority.

On the back of the card we have included some facts about the law. We know from experience and discussions with other street workers that not everyone knows what the laws around sex work are, including the Gardaí! Since 2017, selling sex on the street is legal but paying for sex is not. It is also illegal to work indoors with other people but you are allowed to work inside alone. The Gardaí were given new powers at the start of the pandemic which allowed them to move on and even arrest people who were not complying with lockdown orders. These laws have now been rescinded but currently on-the-spot fines exist for people found breaking COVID regulations. However, you should not be getting in trouble or arrested for street working otherwise and if you are having any issues with this you can contact us for advice and support. 

SWAI is a sex-worker led organisation working towards giving a voice to people who are in sex work by choice, circumstance or coercion. We believe that sex workers know what is best for us and are best placed to advocate in the policies that affect our lives. We also work to provide support to any sex workers who need it whether they work indoor, outdoor, online or another section of the industry. We have peer support available so that you can speak to someone who has a similar experience, without any judgement. We can help with a range of issues including legal, immigration, accessing addiction or housing and homeless services, health, or if you want to look at leaving sex work and need support. 

If you want to contact us you can call Becky on: 085 824 9305 or email [email protected]

Here is a link to the resource and if you are interested in attending a webinar about this issue please get in contact with us Leaflet Print ready v2

Images from vigil 2019December 17th marks International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers.

Kate McGrew, director of Sex Workers Alliance Ireland (SWAI) says “This year the review of the sex work laws has begun and we worked to ensure that sex worker’s voices were heard in the policy decisions that govern our lives. These laws have kept us isolated by ensuring we work alone or forcing us to break the law when we work together with another worker for safety. Poverty is brutal and taking away our options does nothing to increase our safety. These laws have increased violence against us and only by fully decriminalising sex work will we begin to remedy that and centre the safety of sex workers.”

She continues “The End Demand laws were purported to end trafficking but Ireland has moved down to the Tier 2 Watchlist in the US Trafficking in Persons Report this year. 

This year so-called brothel workers remain imprisoned. In Limerick, co-workers were attacked precisely because they were working together for safety and they had no legal recourse that would not result in them also being arrested. We have seen more migrant workers sentenced around the country. Our sex work and so-called brothel-keeping laws continue to be applied in a racist way.

This year has been devastating for all marginalised people including sex workers. Because of the quasi-legal nature of our work, most sex workers did not qualify for PUP and were left behind. Our organisation was also refused funding and admission to government committees for vulnerable people because we recognise that sex work is an economic activity. 

Almost half of sex workers in Ireland were unable to give up work during the pandemic and even now most have returned to work. It is simply unfeasible to expect people not to work for 9 months of the year, even if your job is intimate work. Demand for sex work was severely reduced this year and yet there were little to no supports for sex workers. Laws that are based on ideology instead of worker safety are state-supported violence against us. 

Gardaí also used COVID laws to move on and detain workers and they continue to misrepresent the law. Street sex work is decriminalised in Ireland yet street workers have been pulled off the street and photographed in Garda stations so that the Gardaí can more easily identify them if they are murdered. They are then released back onto the street hours later with their whole night’s work ruined. This forces street workers to take on work they would normally turn down because the need for money is more important than the fear for their own safety. 

As we face into a recession we know more and more people will turn to sex work, as they did in 2008, to make ends meet. Our laws should ensure safety for these new workers, not put them in more danger as they have since 2017.

In the last few weeks, the sex worker community has been devasted by blow after blow. Scotland is currently consulting on introducing the Nordic Model and the UK passed its first reading on legislation to introduce End Demand laws there too. These laws are being introduced for moral reasons with no evidence that they work. Sex workers are being ignored again about the reality of lives and our safety. Sex workers continue to have their income curbed as various platforms such and Instagram and Facebook have banned us and many financial platforms such as Paypal, Visa and Mastercard do not allow us on them. During a global pandemic, we need to be able to access cash. SWAI struggled with this issue when giving our hardship funds. 

However, as always the sex work community takes care of our own because no one else will. We created a hardship fund which gave small grants to over 170 sex workers during the first lockdown. We also created a number of harm reduction guidelines for those who could not give up work. 

The Sex Workers Alliance Ireland also received our first Irish funding, a milestone for us and an acknowledgement that affected led advocacy is key. Despite the constant cruel stigma, laws that have made us less safe and a society that wishes we weren’t there we are resilient and we deserve to be heard.”

#DecrimforSafety #SupportSafeSexWork

woman looking at phone with creepy ghost behind herConsent is vital for any sexual relationship, whether online or in-person, whether transactional or not. The leaking and distribution of sexual images which have been reported recently breaches the consent and trust of those involved.  

Misogyny, rape culture and consent are at the heart of this, issues sex workers are all too familiar with. We have seen an effort by people who wish to eradicate sex work to separate those whose Only Fans images have been leaked and those who have had their private images released by former partners but we expect everyone to stand together to oppose slut shaming and hatred of women’s sexuality in all its forms. Sex workers are constantly excluded from the consent conversation in Ireland but we are in the middle of this scandal. We are not outside of this, anyone who sells sexual services including nudes is doing sex work.

Sex workers have learned not to turn to the laws and Gardai to keep us safe. The criminal justice system fails sex workers every day. The sex work laws which were brought in with great fanfare were supposed to keep us safe but have led to a 92% increase in violence against us. Sex workers are now less likely to report to Gardai when they are victims of a crime than they were 3 years ago.

Sex worker’s images and stories are regularly taken without consent by media outlets and organisations who fight to end our means of survival without providing alternatives. We understand all too well how stigma and fear of being outed as a sex worker can affect you, and we know that being outed is many people’s worst fear. We know people have had the knowledge of their sexual services used against them in custody battles, housing and employment.

People have reached out to our organisation because they want sex worker-friendly, peer-led support. Earlier this year we were refused funding from the Department of Justice. We can only afford to pay our outreach staff for 1 day per week, we cannot run a 24-hour hotline. Lack of support from the top down in Ireland means that we cannot provide the support we want to but we will do our best to see that those who contact us are supported.

Ireland needs decent, non-stigmatising sex education, consent education and an overhaul of how women are viewed in society. We cannot rely on the criminal justice system alone to do this. Sex worker’s trust in Gardaí in Ireland is at an all-time low. Dara Quigley’s images were leaked by a Garda, in case you needed reminding. Marginalised people such as the undocumented cannot and will not turn to the very Gardaí who deport them for help. We cannot leave them behind. 

To that end we are having an online support meeting for anyone who sells images for money that has been affected by this incident online on Tuesday 1st December. Contact us at [email protected] or contact Becky at 085 824 9305.

Yellow sirenToday the Sex Workers Alliance Ireland (SWAI) learned that two sex workers working together for safety were attacked precisely because they were, in the eyes of the law, working illegally. 

Two workers were sharing a premises in Limerick when a client refused to shower properly. When he was requested to shower thoroughly he lost his temper and threw objects at the worker. She politely asked him to leave and when he reacted badly again she asked the other worker on the premises for help. He attacked them, and in the worker’s own words “He treats us with violence”. The workers involved want to warn any other sex workers in the area.

Barbara*, the sex worker involved said “This is why it has to be legal to share a flat with another worker. I can’t imagine what would have happened to her if she was here alone. One of the things that he screamed at us was “its two of you! It’s a brothel. I’ll end you!”

Kate McGrew, active sex worker and director of SWAI said “Incidences like this are the reason that sex workers work together for safety and risk breaking the law by so-called brothel-keeping. Who knows what would have happened if the worker was on her own when the client assaulted her? We need policymakers, politicians and sex work prohibitionists to understand that this is what happens when you criminalise one part of transactional sex.” 

She continued “Sex workers warned that the End Demand model, brought in with great fanfare in 2017, would mean increased violence for sex workers. In fact, violent crime against sex workers has increased by 92%! The law prohibited the purchase of sex and increased penalties and added a jail sentence for workers sharing a premises. Decent clients disappeared and it became necessary to take on clients with nothing to lose, more dangerous clients to make ends meet. This is evidenced also by the fact that even in a pandemic the client refused to shower thoroughly, showing scant regard for the sex worker’s health.

Sex work is an economic activity and until it is understood as such and our needs are met in other ways sex workers will continue working. Sex workers have been forced to return to work as they have been out of work for over 7 months. Would you be able to survive without an income for that amount of time?

It is extremely unlikely that these workers will report to the Gardaí as they themselves risk arrest for breaking the law. No exploitation was involved, these women were working together for safety but, as evidenced by the HIV Ireland report published recently, sex workers are at pains to avoid interaction with the Gardaí. The so-called brothel-keeping laws have been almost exclusively used to prosecute young, migrant sex workers. Today’s incident comes on the back of the news that another migrant was prosecuted last week for brothel-keeping. These are not hypothetical scenarios, these are very real concerns of a population who are already extremely marginalised. 

Sex workers look out for each other because no one else will. We have been marginalised even in discussions that affect our lives and livelihood. We need to decriminalise sex work in Ireland so that we can work with another worker legally and we can report crimes against us without fear. We all deserve to be safe in our job. 

The Sex Workers Alliance Ireland is a peer-led service for anyone who sells sexual services in Ireland. Please contact us at [email protected] or 085 824 9305 if you are a sex worker and need our help. 

#DecrimforSafety #SupportSafeSexWork

*Real name not given 

Neon sign of workers holding a hammer and a vibrator

Has your income dried up because of the pandemic?

Do you put in more hours online for less money than you would have before Covid-19?

As a freelance worker do you find it hard to prove where your money came from to apply for emergency welfare?

Well, then your experience of the coronavirus is much like a sex worker’s. Sex workers should have your solidarity because sex work is work and we should all be as safe as we can be.

Unions and labour movements have fought for safer and fairer working conditions. They have changed laws and brought in regulations to ensure that society is structured to benefit the worker. Do you stand with all workers?

This pandemic shines a light on the cracks in society that we knew already existed.

There are many individuals that are shut out of traditional types of work for a plethora of reasons, people such as transgender individuals, undocumented migrants, members of the travelling community, people living with disabilities and people who use drugs.  People in direct provision are refused permission to work while being forced to survive on €38 a week. International students are only allowed 20 hours a week and single mothers without family support and college students often find it difficult to find work that fits their available hours while paying their bills.

Right now, in Ireland, a law exists which puts workers in danger. It was brought in with great fanfare by groups whose funding is dependent on the silence or compliance of sex workers, purporting to save workers from their own exploitation. The workers themselves were against the law and were not listened to when they warned that it would make them less safe. Workers were told that they would not be heard because we have a financial interest in the laws that govern our very lives and existences. What they are referring to is our survival. Since the law was passed violence against these workers has risen by 92%. But the law has made it less likely for these workers to report crimes against them. Trust in Gardaí has dropped to less than 1%. Workers want to be able to contact Gardaí without fear of worse repercussions such as arrest, eviction and deportation. Workers can now be jailed for working together for safety. Workers are being evicted and denied housing because of these very laws. This leaves them open to exploiters who take advantage of them being alone. We are flat-out refused to be recognised as workers, Ireland has criminalised our means of survival. We are stigmatised as people suffering from false-consciousness or as vectors or disease, and so at this time we continue to operate on the fringes of society, becoming even more susceptible to poverty and or ill-health. Not everyone gets to decide the type of work that is available to them but they still have rent and bills that need to be paid regardless. Every worker deserves to be safe, including sex workers. 

Harm reduction, sex work and Covida-19

For sex workers

As sex workers ourselves, we know that when everyone is being told to isolate our work gets hit. If you can take some time off to stop working and social distance now is a good time. 

We also know that some people will need to work to survive. This blogspot outlines a harm reduction approach to sex work during the coronavirus. Do the best you can, that is all anyone can do and you are the best person to make decisions about the reality of your life.

Covid-19 spreads through droplets when a person sneezes or coughs. The virus has a long incubation period so people can transmit without showing symptoms. The safest possible scenario is to keep a distance from others of two to three meters. We know this makes most of our work impossible! So, some suggestions for safer work during this time are:

  • Refraining from kissing and insist on condom-covered services including for blowjobs and dental dams for rimming.
  • Positions like doggy style or reverse cowgirl are better to limit contact and make sure you and your client take long hot showers before and after.
  • Make sure your client washes his hands for 20 seconds upon entry, and when he has left clean all surfaces that he has touched (including doorknobs and handles) with soap and water. Anti-bacterial wipes are okay, soap and water is better.
  • Try not to touch your own face as this is the way the virus enters the body.
  • Take extra care to wash any sex toys that are used
  • Wash your hands for 20 seconds or longer between each client, after being outside and after handling money 
  • Do not do in-person sex work with a client who is displaying symptoms of the virus
  • Do not do in-person sex work if you are displaying symptoms of the virus
  • Each worker charges according to her situation but if possible do not drop your prices. Remember that for your client this is leisure but for you, it’s your livelihood

We know us sex workers are already very good at protecting our health, we just have to be extra careful at this moment!

Please note that there is now a firewall between immigration and the department of health so even if you are undocumented you can still contact a doctor if you have symptoms of the coronavirus.

If you need anything from SWAI, even just for a chat please get in contact with us. We would love to hear from you. 

For clients

Please note that sex workers have always been impeccable when it comes to hygiene. 

  • If possible try to seek remote sexual services such as video or phone sex. Please note that this may not always be possible
  • Ensure your hygiene is exemplary. Note that you are responsible for your own health
  • Wash your hands immediate for 20 seconds or more when entering the premises
  • If running water is not available please use hand sanitiser
  • You should always respect the boundaries a sex worker has but now please do so for your own safety
  • Tip generously, sex workers are always impeccable about hygiene but are taking a risk to see you
  • Wear a condom for all sex acts (without complaint!)
  • Do not seek the services of a sex worker if you are displaying symptoms of the virus
  • Do not be racist to members of the Asian community
  • Donate to the SWAI hardship fund https://swai-hardship-fund.causevox.com/
For allies

SWAI Hardship Fund

SWAI Hardship Fund

On Saturday 21st March the Sex Workers Alliance Ireland launched our crowdfund to ensure that some of society’s most vulnerable people can survive. 

All non-essential workplaces have closed and people are being advised to stay indoors and to ‘social distance’ from each other. This is having a particular impact on the sex industry. Already sex workers are seeing a dramatic decrease in clients. Clients are staying away, hotels are closing or at least disallowing non-residents in, and university students are being evicted in swaths if they are in student housing, in order to keep people apart.

We in Ireland were already living under the Nordic Model, which meant a reduction in decent clients for sex workers. This pandemic will make it so much worse for sex workers.

We know from first-hand accounts that street workers, in particular, are feeling the sting of the efforts to curb COVID-19. Most of the street workers in Ireland are truly working at a survival level and this will not change under the current lockdown.

We have also contacted high-level politicians and government departments to request that we are included in any meetings about high-risk populations. We have asked for the cessation of all garda raids on sex work-related activity for the duration of Covid-19, in particular for issues such as ‘brothel keeping’, which in most cases involves two or more people working together for health and safety.

We ask you to give what you can to help precarious workers make it through. This money will go directly into the hands of sex workers through individual emergency payments. Any little helps.