Candlelight Vigil: End Violence Against Sex Workers

December 6, 2021

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Last year's IDEVASW vigil

The Sex Workers Alliance Ireland (SWAI) invites all sex workers, supporters and allies to join us at a candlelit vigil to mark International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers #IDEVASW.

The review of the laws governing sex work has stalled, Garda “welfare checks” have resulted in sex workers being evicted and sex workers have been deported during a global pandemic.

We have also seen some more prosecutions of violent criminals who attacked sex workers in the aftermath of the change in the law in 2017. For the second year in a row Ireland languishes in the Tier 2 Watchlist of the Trafficking in Persons report. Despite the promises of client criminalisation fewer trafficking victims have been identified and violence against sex workers has increased by 92%.

Stigma against sex workers rages on and affects the health, safety and security of sex workers in Ireland. We will have a moment’s silence for those who have suffered violence and lost their lives due to this abhorrent stigma.

We ask you to join us on Friday Dec 17th to call for an end to violence against sex workers, and to acknowledge that our laws do not address the root needs of sex workers, which are rights, health, safety and security.

Please contact Linda privately & confidentially for more information or join us at 6:30pm outside Leinster House. Email: [email protected]

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    Supporting trans people means supporting sex work decriminalisation

    November 20, 2021

    This Trans Day of Remembrance LGBTQI+ organisations must stand with the Sex Workers Alliance of Ireland (SWAI) when we call for the full decriminalisation of sex work. Any alternative is putting the health and safety of trans people at risk.

    Trans Day of Remembrance

    Aoife Bloom, board member of SWAI says “Today, on Trans Day of Remembrance 2021 we demand that society acknowledges how the majority of trans people who were killed in 2021 were trans sex workers. 

    2021 is a record-breaking year for violence against trans people. 375 gender diverse people were murdered and the majority of those murdered were black and migrant. Over half of those murdered were sex workers. When we talk about transphobic violence and Trans Day of Remembrance we’re usually talking about trans sex workers of colour.”

    She continues “Here in Ireland, trans sex workers are often the victims of the spate of violence that occurred directly after the law changed in 2017. Liam Vickers preyed on a vulnerable trans woman and was enabled by our recently changed laws. The change in law created an environment wherein our vulnerability was highlighted in the media, without providing any new protections for us whatsoever. The law increased criminalisation of people co-working, under “brothel-keeping” legislation, distancing us from authorities, and also forcing us to work alone if we were trying to work within legal parameters. Since the law changed in 2017 we have seen a 92% increase in violent crimes against us. 

    Recent research by the European Sex Worker Alliance (ESWA) highlights that 83% of sex workers surveys felt that transphobia had a detrimental effect on their mental health. Trans people are over represented in the sex work community because they are marginsalised and unable to find other work. Sex work is an economic activity, after all.

    Our current model of client criminalisation does not respond to the circumstances of deep poverty, domestic violence, homelessness, precarity and drug use that may lead to people selling sex. Sex workers exist on the sharp end of misogyny, racism, transphobia and other forms of marginalisation. Sex workers must work alone to work legally which increases our vulnerability.

    How long more can government, health authorities, and gender equality bodies here ignore the growing body of evidence that shows that their policies are damaging and endangering to the physical and mental health of this precarious group of people?

    SWAI demands that organisations that claim to support trans people start to advocate and agitate for the full decriminalisation of sex work. Decriminalisation is essential for combating trans marginalisation and HIV rates, building trust with marginalised communities and providing access to sexual health supports. You cannot be pro LGBT rights without being pro-sex worker rights.” 

    Statement on OnlyFans changes

    August 25, 2021

    Adult webcam and virtual sex chat concept. Laptop with whip, dildo vibrator, buttplug and gag on red pink background

    The Sex Workers Alliance Ireland (SWAI) welcomes the news that OnlyFans will not proceed with new changes in OnlyFans announced last week which would ban sexually explicit content. This reversal is due to the sex work community rallying and ensuring that the shock and fear our community felt was heard.

    Aoife Bloom, board member of SWAI said “The global pandemic continues and while we are slowly reopening some sex workers are supplementing their income through online work. Throughout the pandemic the number of OnlyFans content creators increased dramatically which undoubtedly increased the profits for the shareholder immensely.” 

    She continued “Sex workers are familiar with exclusion from financial platforms. PayPal, which have its European headquarters in Ireland, have closed the accounts of sex workers, refused to pay out the remaining balance which amounts to stealing money, even for those who do not use the platform to be paid for sex work. GoFundMe, a popular crowdfunding site that many trans people use to raise money to pay for the surgeries they do not have access to here in Ireland, does not allow sex workers to use their platform. Our COVID hardship fund in 2020 sought to get cash straight into the hands of sex workers who really needed it and we struggled with a reliable way to deliver it.  May we remind people that sex work in Ireland is not illegal, at least according to the proponents of the Nordic Model of client criminalisation in Ireland.” 

    “These new regulations would have been a fallout from the FOSTA SESTA laws, introduced in the United States in 2018. These laws made advertising sex work illegal which meant workers could no longer use these sites to find clients and many were forced back to their exploitative managers (pimps) or working in the street. We have seen that these third parties have contacted OnlyFans workers in the wake of the proposed changes. Stigma and marginalisation make sex workers reliant on third parties which opens them up to exploitation.” 

    “Reducing the income of sex workers is a core tenant of the End Demand model of client criminalisation. Many sex workers were not included in government supports which meant that over 50% of the sex workers we spoke to were unable to give up in-person work. As we have stated time and again reducing the income of sex workers does nothing to end exploitation and trafficking in the industry and in fact make sex workers less safe. Sex workers could have been forced to move away from OnlyFans into in-person work. This loss of income could have forced workers into taking risks such as not using condoms or taking on clients that they would normally turn down.” 

    “Despite the claims of anti-sex work organisations in Ireland and elsewhere, there is no evidence that people have been coerced into creating content. The platform allows workers to set their own time, be their own boss and avoid exploitative pornography production companies. It is clear that anti-sex work ideology is more important than mitigating risk for people working in the industry. These financial institutes claim a moral authority but continue to work with companies that are responsible for climate change, or the opioid crisis.” 

    “Sex workers are people, it seems we have to remind the world of this. Sex workers are excluded from financial institutions and social media platforms, even when the mantra for the past 18 months has been to stay indoors. The organisations calling for this exclusion have dark histories of religious oppression and anti-choice rhetoric, including in Ireland. Make no mistake, they will not stop at excluding sex workers, other marginalised people will be next. Where will this end?”

    “Sex workers are the canaries in the coal mine for many regressive laws and regulations. Decriminalisation of sex work is the first step in ending the stigma of our work. We are entitled to work as safely as possible. Decriminalisation will not legalise exploitation or trafficking. Our current legal model is failing sex workers and has done nothing to keep us safe since its introduction.” 

    We are looking for a Coordinator!

    August 6, 2021

    Join Our Team

    We are looking for a Coordinator!

    Updated: 2nd December

    SWAI has an exciting new opportunity for a highly motivated, experienced person to join our team. The role of Coordinator is to promote the health, safety, participation and dignity of all female, male, cis and trans sex workers in Ireland.  

    SWAI is Ireland’s only frontline organisation which works from a harm reduction, non-judgmental and human rights perspective to support the rights of sex workers. We advocate for the right to health, safety, participation, dignity and self-determination of all people working in the sex industry in Ireland. In line with evidence-based policy, we want to see the sex purchase ban repealed, a repeal of brothel-keeping law in Ireland and full decriminalisation of sex work.

    The Coordinator reports to the SWAI Board of Directors. SWAI encourages applicants from diverse and non-traditional backgrounds. 

    Ideal Candidate

    We are looking for someone who believes that organising and working collectively can bring about change. This is an ideal role for someone who feels strongly about tackling injustice and growing power within the sex work community. Do you believe in a model that puts people impacted front and centre of its work? Can you lead projects and support others to lead through training and mentoring teams and communities? Do you have experience of organising, leading and coordinating campaigns? Are you up for rolling up your sleeves and getting stuck in? If so, this may be the job for you!

    The Role

    • Coordinating, supervising and mentoring to staff members in the area of community work/organising and campaigns.
    • Develop and implement annual work plans to achieve the goals of the strategic plan
    • Oversee a strategy for the ongoing and sustained support for the  participation of sex workers in all of SWAI’s work
    • Working with the admin staff member to identify funding opportunities, develop funding proposals and take responsibility for implementing funded projects
    •  Oversee the development of a campaign to counter the criminalisation of sex  workers
    •  Engage a range of civil society (community groups, NGOs, advocacy organisations, etc) stakeholders to support the human rights of sex workers and alternatives to the Nordic model
    •  Represent SWAI at events, external meetings, on external structures and bodies and in the media
    • Develop relationships with politicians, civil servants and relevant stakeholders as part of campaigning and advocacy work
    • Prepare reports for internal and external purposes and coordinate relevant research and policy positions
    • Increase the capacity of SWAI to advocate for the rights of sex workers in Ireland by coordinating a panel of sex workers to do community outreach and inform the direct of SWAI’s work
    • Report in a transparent and thorough manner to the Board of Directors on all matters relating to the finances and management of SWAI
    • Ensure the organisation operates in compliance with all relevant statutory regulations

    These duties are a guide to the general range of responsibilities and are neither definitive nor restrictive. The Coordinator may from time to time have to undertake other duties in keeping with the overall function of the post.

     Essential

    • Clear ability to manage, support, and lead a team of staff and volunteers in a collaborative and inclusive manner
    • Experience in outreach work, developing trust and connection with individuals and groups 
    • Ability to think strategically and to plan, direct and run campaigns
    • Clear ability to work in a diverse and intercultural context and across a range of stakeholders
    • A self-starter, who demonstrates initiative and has the ability to be creative, flexible and innovative
    • Excellent communication skills; capacity to develop good interpersonal skills and work collaboratively
    • Strong commitment to tackling injustice and advancing sex worker rights
    • Clear about own values – anti-racism, equality, social justice – and a commitment to the power of people working together to challenge injustice
    •  Experience in digital technology 
    • Understanding and critical analysis of sex work in Ireland
    • Understanding of issues facing sex workers
    • Excellent organisational and administrative skills

    Desirable

    • Lived experience of sex work. Please note there is no expectation in this role to be ‘out’ in the media, although if this is something that you are interested in we will provide media training and support.  
    • Experience in a managerial role with experience of providing supervision and one to one mentoring supports to staff ensuring clarity and accountability on priorities and goals
    • Experience and knowledge of community work/organising as method in working for change
    • Experience of developing and implementing funding proposals and projects and overseeing compliance 
    • Knowledge of legislative and policy development and influencing the Irish political system
    • Experience of working within a harm reduction context

    Remuneration: €45,000- €52,000 pro rata commensurate to experience.

    Commencing: As soon as possible.

    Day of Work –

    3 days per week (21 hours), these hours can be done flexibly. Further hours available dependent on funding and resource allocation. Will include some out of office hours and some travel throughout Ireland. Remote working is optional. 

    Please send the completed application form SWAI-Coordinator-application-form-and-questionaire to [email protected] by 6pm Wednesday 19th January. CV’s or Cover Letters will NOT be accepted.
    Download

    SWAI encourages applicants from diverse and non-traditional backgrounds. SWAI is an equal opportunities employer.

    Ireland is failing trafficking victims by criminalising sex work

    July 30, 2021

    Red umbrella yellow backgroundToday, 30th July is World Day Against Trafficking in Person. Ireland continues to languish in the Tier 2 Watchlist of the Trafficking in Persons Report, as we fail to tackle the root causes of trafficking while pursuing failed strategies such as criminalising aspects of sex work.

    In 2017 Ireland introduced client criminalisation, increased penalties for sex workers co-working in a bid to ‘End Demand’ of sex work and thereby somehow reduce people being trafficked into Ireland. This blanket policy has had far-reaching consequences which we warned about prior to its introduction. Only two clients have been prosecuted under the law. Many more sex workers have been arrested, deported or threatened with deportation for working together for safety. Violence against sex workers has increased by 92% while trust in Gardaí has decreased to 1%. 

    It has also failed to reduce trafficking in Ireland. Reports funded by the Department of Justice show that we are underestimating the number of trafficking victims in Ireland by 38%. Convictions of traffickers have fallen while the number of victims identified has increased since 2017.  

    Organised crime flourishes in industries where a good or service is criminalised in some way. An Organised Crime in Prostitution Unit of the Gardaí was recently established, however, this unit enforces laws that marginalise sex workers and damage trust in the Gardaí. Criminalising any aspect of sex work forces it underground, away from services and justice. Politicians who support the prohibition of sex work are misguidedly supporting organised crime. 

    The review of the law which began in 2020 gives us an opportunity to reimagine our anti-trafficking efforts as well as putting the health and safety of those in the sex industry first. We need to tackle the reasons why trafficking exists such as repressive border regimes which increase exploitation. We need a firewall between immigration and the sex work unit of the Gardaí so that any undocumented person will feel free to report abuse without fear of deportation. 

    This review could also highlight that sex workers ourselves are best placed to highlight exploitation in our industry. Aoife Bloom, board member of the Sex Workers Alliance Ireland (SWAI) says “No one wants trafficking and abuse to end more than sex workers ourselves. Creating laws that deal with sex trafficking separate to those that deal with other forms of labour trafficking have become anti-migrant or anti-migration measures. Our brothel-keeping laws have been applied in a racist way as highlighted by IHREC. Sex work is an economic activity and sex workers need to be able to enjoy labour rights that other workers enjoy. Trafficking can be tackled by strong unions and proper reporting mechanisms as in other sectors of the economy, but our laws prevent sex workers from doing this and it makes us more vulnerable.”

    She continues “SWAI calls for the decriminalisation of sex work along with PICUM Members (Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants, International Labour Organization and The Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women (GAATW). Decriminalisation of sex work does not decriminalise trafficking but will ensure that the Gardaí can utilise the best resource they have against sex trafficking, sex worker ourselves.”

    Pandemic of violence against sex workers brought about by change in law has not ended

    July 24, 2021

    We deserve to be safe image

    Yesterday a man who attacked and robbed two sex workers working together for safety was jailed for 10 years. 

    Aoife Bloom, board member of SWAI says “The Sex Workers Alliance Ireland (SWAI) welcomes the news that a man who violently attacked two members of our community was jailed for 10 years. We commend the bravery of these two workers in helping to bring this man to justice. However, we feel that this harrowing crime was entirely preventable. These violent assaults are the direct result of the introduction of client criminalisation and the increase in penalties against so-called brothel-keeping in 2017.”

    “SWAI and other allies warned that these new laws would push sex workers away from Gardaí and drive the industry underground. Those who work together for safety risk arrest and jail time. Criminals know this and target sex workers precisely because the law forces sex workers to work alone to work legally. Those who are co-working are unlikely to contact the Gardaí if they are the victims of a crime. This makes us sitting ducks!”

    “Thankfully the victims were not discouraged by these laws from reporting the assault in this particular instance. However we know that violent incidents like this have become more common since 2017 while the trust in the Gardaí necessary to report crimes like these has fallen. As a result successful prosecutions such as this one have become more difficult.”

    “Since 2017 there has been a 92% increase in violence against sex workers. There has also been a reduction in trust in the Gardaí. Less than 1% of sex workers feel comfortable in reporting crimes against them. The victims, in this case, were migrant workers, forced to work by economic circumstances. As we face into a recession, more and more people will enter this industry.” 

    “We want to reduce the harm in sex work and ensure people in the industry are as safe as they can be. Sex work prohibitionists and misguided politicians who support our regressive laws say that sex work can never be safe. We beg of them to just listen to sex workers when we say that Ireland needs to decriminalise sex work so we can be safe. Their ideology is not more important than our safety.”

    Ask your Candidate By-Election 2021

    July 2, 2021

    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. 

    Press release: Decriminalisation of sex work is the first step to helping trafficking victims

    July 2, 2021

    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.”

    SWAI Director steps down to focus on artistic career

    June 1, 2021

    Sex Workers Alliance Ireland (SWAI) has announced that its Director, Kate McGrew, is departing having worked with the organisation for a period of six years. During this period SWAI developed into a strong representative body for the rights of sex workers and it also developed as a  service provision organisation.

    SWAI said that “Kate has played an invaluable role in building SWAI as a strong voice for sex worker rights advocacy in Ireland. Her work contributed to a  growing awareness among politicians and society of sex workers’ realities and needs. In particular, she worked to improve public understanding of issues related to stigma, marginalisation and the detrimental impact of Ireland’s current criminal laws on sex workers’ lives. Kate was also instrumental in securing an amendment to decriminalise outdoor workers in legislation proceeding through the Houses of the Oireachtas. Her commitment to the development of SWAI and her contribution in progressing human rights and respect for all sex workers in Ireland will always be highly valued and we wish her every success in the future.”


    Kate McGrew said: “It has been a privilege to work alongside the members of SWAI for the past six years and I wish them well in their continued work and endeavours.

    “Now, however, is the right time for me to concentrate on my artistic work in theatre and music, where I will continue to highlight the injustices suffered by sex workers through stigma and criminalisation, and the continual urgency for the state to acknowledge our needs, as well as our value and contributions to Irish society.”