Press Release: Misguided law led to attack on trans worker, says Sex Workers Alliance Ireland
Liam Vickers preyed on a vulnerable trans woman and was enabled by our recently changed laws Kate McGrew, director of Sex Workers Alliance Ireland (SWAI) says “The Sex Workers Alliance Ireland (SWAI) applauds this brave sex worker who reported the crime and we call for an end to the criminalisation and stigmatisation that leaves this […]
Read MoreOutdoor Sex Work and COVID-19 resource
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 […]
Read MoreStructural and actual violence against sex workers did not end under COVID
December 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 […]
Read MoreCandlelit vigil to mark International Day to Eliminate Violence Against Sex Workers 17th Dec 6:30pm
Details are as follows: Event: Candlelit vigil to mark International Day to Eliminate Violence Against Sex Workers Date: Thursday 17th December Location: Gates of Leinster House Time: 6:30pm Hosted by: Sex Workers Alliance Ireland The Sex Worker Alliance Ireland (SWAI) will hold a candlelit vigil outside Leinster House at 6:30pm on Thursday 17th December to […]
Read MoreSWAI statement on leaked nudes
Consent 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 […]
Read MorePress Release: “It’s a brothel. I’ll end you!” – chilling words of a man who attacked two sex workers
Today 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 […]
Read MorePress Release: Migrant worker guilty of working with another worker says Sex Workers Alliance Ireland
Today the Sex Workers Alliance Ireland (SWAI) learned of a migrant who has pled guilty to brothel-keeping charges in Waterford. Kate McGrew, active sex worker and director of the Sex Workers Alliance Ireland (SWAI) said “The crime of so-called brothel-keeping punishes sex workers for working together for safety. If a worker shares a space with […]
Read MorePress release: World Day Against Trafficking in Persons highlights Ireland’s failure
Today, 30th July is World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. Falling from Tier 1 to Tier 2 Watchlist in the Trafficking in Person’s Report since the purchase of sex law was introduced shows that Ireland is not utilising its best weapon against sex trafficking: sex workers themselves “The long-awaited review of the Review of Part […]
Read MorePress release: Review will show that the current law is a failed experiment
Sex workers must be listened to in the review of the sex work law Currently working sex workers in Ireland are central to the review of the law, says Kate McGrew, sex worker and director of the Sex Workers Alliance Ireland (SWAI). We are the experts in how this law has affected the health and […]
Read MorePress release: Time to decriminalise sex work in order to combat Ireland’s failure to combat trafficking
Ireland has moved from Tier 2 to Tier 2 Watch List in the US State Department Trafficking in Persons report, released yesterday. This shows that our sex work laws are failing to help sex trafficking victims. Gardaí are ignoring and creating antagonism with their best resource to identify victims of sex trafficking, which are sex […]
Read MorePress release: Ireland is a safer place thanks to sex workers coming forward
“When sex workers work together with Gardaí we can make society better,” says Kate McGrew, current sex worker and director of the Sex Workers Alliance Ireland (SWAI) commenting on two court cases involving attacks on sex workers which were reported on today. She continues “In the case in Tralee the judge warned the accused to […]
Read MoreBlood donation and sex work in Ireland
by Adeline Berry The world appears to be in turmoil and many of us are looking for ways to be part of the progress in making things better. In that spirit I recently emailed the blood donation service in Ireland to ask about their restrictions on donating. I must confess that it’s been a while […]
Read MoreTime to get real about sex work in Ireland on International Sex Workers Day
“Today is International Sex Workers Day and we are marking it while slowly emerging from the throes of a global pandemic”, says Kate McGrew, current sex worker and director of the Sex Workers Alliance Ireland (SWAI). She continues “Even a global pandemic cannot successfully eradicate the in-person sex industry in Ireland. Over half of the […]
Read MoreInternational Workers Day – Sex Work is Work
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 […]
Read MorePress release: Over 100 European NGOs endorse a statement calling for emergency support to sex workers amid the COVID-19 crisis
The International Committee on the Rights of Sex Workers in Europe (ICRSE), a network of more than 100 organisations supporting sex workers has published its demands to European institutions and national governments, including emergency income replacement, a moratorium on fines, arrests and prosecution related to sex work and immigration status, access to health care for […]
Read MoreHarm reduction, sex work and Covid-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 […]
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