New ground-breaking research by the Sex Workers Alliance Ireland reveals the precarity and marginalisation that migrant sex workers experience when trying to access housing.
Almi Modjeska, coordinator of SWAI said “Voices of sex workers in Ireland are constantly omitted and excluded from conversations leading to laws and policies directly affecting them. This constant omission guided our approach to this research, which is why this report also includes sex workers’ recommendations for meaningful action that will improve the situation for migrant sex workers in Ireland.”
Linda Kavanagh, spokesperson for the Sex Workers Alliance Ireland (SWAI) said “Our research includes sex workers in all aspects of the report. The questions asked were devised with the input of active sex workers. Despite the dominant narrative framing all sex workers as victims of gender based violence, sex workers are knowledge creators and are best placed to speak about their reality. Sex workers conducted the interviews, data analysis and report writing. When we say ‘Nothing About Us, Without Us’, we mean it.”
Kavanagh continued “The discussion around sex work in Ireland focuses entirely on violence against sex workers by clients, and their right to exit. The structural violence and discrimination they face from the state, the Gardaí, the housing crisis and by landlords is never mentioned. These are all issues that the government and all of us can address. Instead, all they are offered is the criminalisation of their income through laws that they were never meaningfully consulted on.”
“Housing and migration are hot-button topics here. Ireland is one of eight countries that introduced the Nordic client criminalisation model. The country is currently enduring a housing crisis, with a severe shortage of housing options. The cost-of-living crisis, which has grown from the housing crisis, makes accessing decent work difficult. We know that more people are turning to sex work in Ireland to make ends meet. Ireland criminalises clients and has broad and harsh brothel-keeping laws that prevent sex workers from working together for safety. These laws make sex work less safe and drive sex workers away from paths to justice and services that can help them.”
Molly*, our interviewer, said “As a sex worker myself and someone who has experienced homelessness and precarious housing, I felt the participants really opened up to me in a way they wouldn’t to others. It makes a huge difference to be able to be spoken to on the same level, rather than to an academic who can’t fully understand our situation”
About being interviewed by a peer researcher, Stella* said “There is a level of trust there when you know that the person who interviews you has had similar experiences and can relate to you. It is not some expert or academic who does this research to enhance their academic or professional career, but people who are affected by the same issues you are, so you know they are interviewing you because they care and want things to get better for our community.”
The research was conducted in 2023 and 2024 and aims to understand personal experiences and perspectives of migrant sex workers, focusing on the intersection of housing and sex work. Understanding the housing experiences of migrant sex workers in Ireland is important as it is key to the betterment of their wellbeing, and it unveils broader societal issues.
The issues include
- a national housing crisis
- historical anti-sex worker prejudice in the Irish government
- society and policing
- racism
- discrimination, anti-migration sentiment.
Key themes of the research include:
- difficulties in finding suitable accommodation
- substance use
- entry into sex work
- experiences of discrimination and predatory behaviour by landlords and property management companies
Key takeaways
- Three-quarters of participants started sex work due to financial reasons
- Brothel-keeping laws prevent sex workers from protecting themselves against predatory management
- Three-quarters of participants rented private accommodation, while 25% were homeless or lived in hostels
- 2 of the 8 are homeless, living in a hostel. Of those privately renting, 33% avail of HAP
- The majority of participants lived in their current housing for 1 and 2 years
- Several participants in this study have experienced eviction and some level of homelessness.
- Several participants related experiences of discrimination when seeking or applying for housing
Calls to Action
- Decriminalise sex work
- Abolish brothel-keeping laws
- Increase affordable housing
- Strengthen tenant protection
- Destigmatise sex work
- Develop supporting housing programs
* Names changed to protect anonymity
This project was funded by ESWA (European Sex Workers’ Rights Alliance as part of activities related to the ESWA programme: ‘Decent (Sex) Work and Safer Housing – multi-stakeholder dialogues on inclusion and integration of migrant sex workers in Europe’.