Today’s actions will decrease trust in Gardaí for already marginalised sex workers
Kate McGrew, current sex worker and spokesperson for the Sex Workers Alliance Ireland(SWAI) said “The criminalisation of client law was brought in with great fanfare over 2 years ago but, as yet, has only seen two men prosecuted for the purchase of sex in Ireland. It...
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Press statement: Demand for sex work has not decreased in Northern Ireland
Client criminalisation is not fit for purpose, has has been met with an increase in sex trafficking and is actively harmed the mental health of sex workers in Northern Ireland, according to a new report from the Department of Justice. Kate McGrew, current sex worker...
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Press release: Serial rapist is handed 20-year sentence for targeting Czech sex workers with help of Sex Workers Alliance Ireland
We all expect laws to keep us safe, but the laws around sex work make Ireland more dangerous. Kate McGrew, director of Sex Workers Alliance Ireland (SWAI) and current sex worker says, “SWAI are happy to hear the news that a serial rapist was handed a 20-year prison...
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Press release: Sex workers could be allies in sex trafficking if we were allowed
Today is World Day against Trafficking in Persons and we call on the government and the Gardaí to stop conflating consensual sex work and trafficking so that resources could be used where they are needed most: prevention of trafficking. Kate Mc Grew, director of the...
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Press release: Jailing a pregnant, migrant sex worker yesterday shows we have not moved away from our dark past
Kate McGrew, current sex worker and director of the Sex Workers Alliance Ireland (SWAI), said “The Sex Workers Alliance are horrified to learn of the jailing of two sex workers at Naas District Court yesterday, one of whom is pregnant, less than one week after...
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Ask your candidate about sex work laws
In less than 2 weeks we take to the polls again to vote for politicians to represent us on a local and European level. Sex workers are rarely heard by politicians so WE NEED YOUR HELP! Please ask your candidates about what they will do to help sex workers. Many...
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Press release: International Sex Workers Rights Day
Today, the 3rd of March is International Sex Workers Rights Day. The Sex Workers Alliance Ireland (SWAI) is the only sex workers rights groups in Ireland who places currently working sex workers at the heart of the campaign. We are also the only sex worker group in...
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Press release: Sex work laws are discriminatory says SWAI
We are highlighting the laws surrounding sex work in Ireland as discriminatory laws today on the UNAIDS Zero Discrimination Day. This year UNAIDS are using Zero Discrimination day to draw attention to the many laws which create barriers to health and safety, as well...
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Statement about Google and Ugly Mugs
SWAI is extremely concerned for the safety of sex workers in Ireland, as Ugly Mugs a widely used by sex workers has been rejected by Google to allows its app to screen calls and texts. This app screens calls and text for dangerous clients. Ugly Mugs applied for an...
read morepress 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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