press release: One prosecution for man caught up in raid shows law is not fit for purpose
ess releasem Kate McGrew, director of Sex Workers Alliance Ireland (SWAI) says “This man was caught procuring sex during a raid on a so-called brothel, when two or more workers work together. This case yet against highlights how the law is being used against workers...
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Press release: Garda and laws fail the most vulnerable
While new report shows that Sex Workers working even in partially criminalised settings face three times the amount of violence, it remains completely illegal for two workers to work together for safety in Ireland. Today is International Day to Eliminate Violence...
read morePress Release: Normalised violence against some of societies most vulnerable due to policing of sex work
Since the laws have been introduced there have been 55 people arrested for prostitution offences, but only 2 of them are clients. Garda resources are already stretched without having to police consensual acts between a sex worker and their client. Sex Workers...
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Speech at Reclaim the Night Belfast 2018
Last night we spoke at the Reclaim the Night Belfast march. Below is the text of our speech. Firstly, thank you for having SWAI here and asking us to speak. I honestly wish I wasn't standing here talking, but my colleague and friend Laura Lee instead. These are big...
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Press Release: Not all Women included in Big Picture RTE program: “A Woman’s World”
Sex Workers Alliance Ireland Censored from Big Picture RTE program: “A Women’s World” “A Woman’s World” is due to be aired tonight on RTE. SWAI contacted the program about having someone from their organisation or an individual specifically affected by these issues to...
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Press release: New report leaves sex workers out in the cold says Sex Workers Alliance Ireland
New report leaves sex workers out in the cold says Sex Workers Alliance Ireland ‘Disrupt Demand’, a report published today fails to address the reality of the lives of sex workers in all their diversity. In Ireland, buying sex is a criminal offence under the Criminal...
read moreUrgent information regarding recent knife attacks and robberies in Dublin 30_06_2017
English: There have been a number of knife attacks and robberies in the Dublin area over the last few days. The victims have mostly been Trans sex workers, but not all. If you have any information about these attacks please contact Garda - Lucy Myles 086 828 2515 /...
read moreDECRIMINALISE SEX WORKERS, SAYS HASC
Laura Lee, 5th July 2016 In an interim report published today, Friday 1 July 2016, the Home Affairs Select Committee (HASC) says that soliciting by sex workers, and sex workers sharing premises, should be decriminalised. The Committee says the Home Office should...
read moreUniversal Periodic Review
SWAI was happy to work and contribute with Abortion Rights Ireland and the Sexual Rights Initiative on the new Universal Periodic Review for 2016. In 2015 the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) recommended that Ireland “take all necessary...
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Belfast Coffee Gatherings
Emily very kindly offered to host our first Belfast Coffee Gathering in May and we have just had a second one in July. Not only did we get a choice of coffee, tea or squash, but also Emily made to die for freshly baked cakes, that totally ruined my diet, as they were...
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ICRSE Conference
Between the 4th and 6th of June 2015 SWAI took part in a conference involving sex workers and supports from 8 European countries. The event organised by the ICRSE was held to mark the 40th anniversary of the Lyon protests where sex workers occupied the Église Saint...
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May Day
May Day is celebrated around Europe as International Workers Day. A day were we traditionally celebrate workers and demand fair treatment and rights from our employers and governments. This year for the first time SWAI took part in the May Day march in Dublin. We...
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Realising Sex Workers Rights
On February 4 SWAI launched it’s long awaited paper “Realising Sex Workers Rights” to a packed out room in Buswells Hotel. The document is a collaborate project involving SWAI. sex workers, academics, legal experts and health care providers. It aims to bring forward...
read moreThe Views Of Real Sex Workers Part 2 Kate
I am a Sex Worker and have been involved in this occupation for approximately 4 years. I started part-time in order to supplement my regular wage and soon discovered that I enjoyed the work and that I would be in a better position to pay off debts incurred through...
read moreWords from an Irish Sexworker
My name is Laura and I am an escort based in Scotland although I spent a great deal of my early working life in the sex industry in Dublin and indeed travelling around the Irish country. I have first hand experience of working in massage parlours in Dublin before...
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