Sex Workers Alliance Ireland

Covid-19, sex workers and the state’s response

March 20, 2020

Woman in mask image Earlier this week we sent the following email to the caretaker Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and caretaker Minister for Health Simon Harris as well as other state departments. Sex workers who are experiencing financial difficulties, much like other precarious workers during these times, are being affected by Covid-19. We must be included in any plans for vulnerable populations and we cannot remain invisible to the state during this time.

We are writing on behalf of the Sex Workers Alliance Ireland (SWAI) regarding measures and public awareness strategies to combat Covid-19. We wish to offer the full support of SWAI and to participate positively in all efforts to mitigate the impact of this health crisis.

There are currently thousands of people in Ireland involved in sex work-related activity involving considerable interpersonal contact. Examples include escorting, massage, stripping and sugaring. For some of the more vulnerable members of the sex working community their accommodation in hostels and homeless accommodation may increase their risk further.

The advice of the National Health Emergency Team to minimise social contact will inevitably reduce the levels of this work. However, it is inevitable that sex work-related activity will continue.

This situation will both very seriously impact the ability of sex workers, many of whom have dependents and family, to earn an income and continue to pose significant threats to the health and general wellbeing of both sex workers and their clients.

Openly addressing this health crisis is greatly complicated in the area of sex work by the fact, that while our work is deemed legal under 2017 legislation, our clients at the criminalised. Co-operation with health professionals, contact tracing measures, self-isolation, etc are seriously impeded by the provisions of this law.

To facilitate the fullest engagement by sex workers in the battle against Covid-19 we request the following:

1) Inclusion of SWAII in all communications and information regarding best practice and control measures related to Covid-19

2) Participation of SWAI in relevant sub-committees dealing with vulnerable and most-at-risk categories of individuals and communities

3) Confirmation that funding and welfare payment measures for the general community, including earlier sickness benefit and its extension to the self-employed, applies fully to sex workers.

4) Cessation of all garda raids on sex work-related activity for the duration of Covid-19, in particular for issues such as ‘brothel keeping’, which in most cases involves two or more people working together for health and safety.

5) Establishment of a specific SWAI /gardaí liaison arrangement to address the separate issue of trafficking during the period of Covid-10 measures.

6) Suspension of current stigmatising advertising campaigns such as ‘We don’t buy it’ during Covid-19, as the messaging in these campaigns drives sex workers and their clients further away from engagement with health professionals and necessary participation in mitigation and self-isolation requirements.

7) Inclusion of SWAI in the notification for any process related to small grants or payments to promote health and safety at local community level or vulnerable persons categories related to Covid-19.

We look forward to supporting the combined government and community based effort to successfully address Covid-19 and to hearing from you.

Press release: Sentence of rapist shows all-too-rare justice for sex workers possible

March 18, 2020

We want to work with Gardaí so that crimes like these can come to justice

On Monday Nolan Keown was sentenced to 14 years in prison after attacking, sexually assaulting and robbing two sex workers in 2016 and 2018.

Kate McGrew, director of SWAI and current sex worker sais “These attacks occurred before and after the sex purchase law, we need to reiterate that this law does not deter men who know their behaviour is already criminal. A sex purchase ban does nothing to deter people who were already willing to break the law with actual violence. The law only gives these egregious humans more cover and brazenness to do so, as they know that workers are unfortunately less likely to engage with Gardai under this law.”

She continues “However we are very grateful for the work of An Garda Schoicana. We know that we can work together to keep perpetrators not only out of our industry and community but off the streets.

The law was introduced with great fanfare but what it has resulted in is a 92% increase in violence against sex workers. In this instance, the change in the law did not deter Mr Keown from his violent acts as the occurred before and after the law.

We are willing to and encouraging of all sex workers to work with Gardai to make Ireland safer for everyone. But the evidence shows that many more sex workers working together for safety have been arrested under our so-called brothel-keeping laws than criminals who have attacked sex workers. Last year two migrant women were prosecuted for working together for safety, one of which was pregnant. Trust in Gardaí has dropped to less than 1% since the introduction of new penalties for working together for safety.

Sex workers are not legally allowed to work together for safety. Attackers know that if workers are working together it is considered a brothel. Sex workers who work together are very unlikely to report to the Gardaí because they fear arrest. If a sex worker works alone this can make her more vulnerable to attacks. Sex workers working alone are reluctant to report to the Gardai because they fear that Gardaí will surveil them looking for their clients, or they won’t be believed. Criminals know this and target both workers alone or together.

We ask the government to make this work between sex workers and Gardai more realistic and effective by abandoning the law that works against these important efforts. Currently, Gardai efforts are forced by law to focus on policing and raids when their role with us should only be one of protection. We call for full decriminalisation of sex work as it has proven in New Zealand and Australia to vastly improve relationships between sex workers and police. We all deserve to be safe.

#DecrimforSafety #SupportSafeSexWork

Press release: New liaison officers and dedicated email address show the PSNI are taking sex workers safety seriously

March 6, 2020

Kate McGrew, current sex worker and director of the Sex Workers Alliance Ireland said “Yesterday, Thursday 5 March, a private meeting was held between the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), the Sex Workers Alliance Ireland (SWAI), The Rainbow Project, UglyMugs.ie and sex workers. It was a constructive meeting and was well-attended by sex workers of many different backgrounds working in Northern Ireland.”

She continued “PSNI Sex Work Liaison Officers (SWLOs) were introduced in 2015, following the advocacy work of Laura Lee. At this meeting it was announced that the number of PSNI Sex Work Liaison Officers (SWLOs) has now been increased from two officers to six officers and there is also now a new dedicated contact email address for the SWLOs – [email protected].”

Detective Chief Superintendent Paula Hilman, Head of PSNI’s Public Protection Branch opened the meeting speaking directly to sex workers and saying: “It is not for us to judge, discriminate against anyone, from whatever background, whatever work they do. Our role is to keep everyone safe and that includes you in the room here with us this evening.”

At the meeting the PSNI, SWAI, UglyMugs.ie and the Rainbow Project all spoke about what each organisation is doing to improve the safety and well-being of people in sex work. A representative from The Rowan, Northern Ireland’s regional Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC), also spoke about their services and their sex worker friendly approach.

Kate also stated “This meeting provided an important opportunity for sex workers to provide feedback to the PSNI and for everyone present to recommit to working in partnership on an ongoing basis. For reasons of privacy, we will not be publicly detailing the discussions that took place. However, SWAI is very pleased that the PSNI want to listen to and support sex workers.

A more detailed update following the meeting will be circulated to sex workers only next week. The Rainbow Project are also now organising monthly sex worker only meetups, on the first Tuesday of every month. If you are doing sex work in Northern Ireland, please know that there is sex worker friendly support available to you, including the sex worker led work that SWAI does in Northern Ireland. We are here for you.

Prior to the event, SWAI and Reclaim the Night came together to temporarily re-name Queens Square ‘Laura Lee Square’ in honour of all our much loved and missed colleague, Laura Lee.”

#DecrimforSafety #SupportSafeSexWork

Press statement: Public’s support of sex workers is not reflected in Ireland’s laws and policies

March 2, 2020

Today SWAI marks it’s 10 year anniversary and reflects over the work we have done and the work we need to do.

Kate McGrew, current sex worker and director of the Sex Workers Alliance Ireland (SWAI) says “Since its inception in 2009 SWAI have sought to bring an alternative voice to the discussion around sex work. The dominant narrative then and now has conflated sex trafficking, human trafficking and human smuggling with consensual sex work. We give voice to the real experiences of currently working sex workers because we ARE currently working sex workers. This voice has been sorely lacking in Irish society.”

She continues “Since 2009 we have grown, taken on staff, have a majority sex working board and hired a sex worker as a director. This means that the lived experiences and voices of currently working sex workers permeate every aspect of our work. We have direct contact with hundreds of sex workers each year and we provide non-judgemental advice on many subjects such as housing and health, provided paths to justice and signposted services. We have helped workers gain refugee status and guided some through the justice system, resulting in a 20-year sentence for a serial rapist.

Since 2009 this country has gone through a recession which we are slowly climbing out of, and it has undergone a sea-change in social change, with same-sex marriage, gender recognition and abortion access being legalised.

Unfortunately, since 2009 client criminalisation has been introduced in Ireland which has a detrimental effect on the safety of workers here. It was brought in with great fanfare but none of the promises that were made has come to pass and in fact, we have seen a 92% increase in violent crime against us. Trust in the Gardaí amongst sex workers has fallen even further. This month alone we have seen a spate of attacks nationwide. We warned that this would happen but we were not listened to.

Sex workers want to work together for safety but the laws in 2017 changed to increase fines for so-called brothel-keeping and added a jail sentence. In June of this year, our worst fears were realised when two migrant workers, one of whom is pregnant, were sentenced to jail for the crime of working together for safety. The judge acknowledged that they were not coerced into this work and there were no bosses, pimps, traffickers or clients involved.

Since the law was introduced only a fraction of the arrests have been of clients. Sex workers bear both the legal brunt and the burden of navigating this law with clients who are potentially more dangerous and much more concerned for their own safety than that of the worker.

In the 10 years since SWAI has started our organisation has gone from strength to strength. We have succeeded in adding a different voice to the sex work discourse and given a voice to this hidden population. In the 2020 review of the law, we must be listened to as the experts in what is best for sex workers.

To mark our 10 years we are re-launching our website https://sexworkersallianceireland.org/. Through it we provide easy to understand information about sex workers rights, support after sexual assault and budgeting and money management. It will also provide up to date news and our press releases.

#DecrimforSafety #SupportSafeSexWork

Press release: Attacks, robberies, rapes and assaults on workers in 2019 all caused by sex working laws

December 17, 2019

IDEVASW image Today is International Day to Eliminate Violence Against Sex Workers. Safety and a life free from violence is everyone’s right. But sex workers are put in danger because of our laws and the stigma surrounding sex work.

Catriona, current sex worker and chairperson of the Sex Workers Alliance Ireland (SWAI) said “Since the sex work laws changed in 2017 the lives, health and safety of sex workers have been put in danger. Here are the facts.

Violence against sex workers increased by 92%.
Sex workers have less trust in the Gardaí than ever and less than 1% will contact the Gardaí if they are a victim of a crime
Young migrant women bear the brunt of the so-called brothel-keeping laws, not pimps or traffickers
Gardaí resources are being wasted on a failed experiment
When sex workers and Gardaí can work together justice can be done”

She continues “Violence against sex workers has increased by 92% since 2017. Criminals know that sex workers are forced to work alone to work legally. This isolation makes them vulnerable to attacks. If workers work together for safety they are breaking the law. Criminals know this and attack them because they know the workers will not risk arrest by reporting. Sex workers make up 61% of trans people murdered this year globally. Some misguided people say that all sex work is a form of violence but what language do we use then to talk about the very real violence such as the spate of robberies that occurred in the past 6 weeks?

We all expect laws and the Gardaí to keep us safe. But the current sex working laws and the way the Gardaí operate means that sex workers do not trust the Gardaí. The same Gardaí who arrest us for working together for safety are the ones we are expected to report to when there has been a crime committed against us. Gardaí are using the spate of crimes committed against sex workers lately as an excuse to clamp down on sex work. Is it any wonder trust is at an all-time low!

This year we have received data from a number of sources, including the Minister for Justice that the people who are arrested under the so-called brothel-keeping laws in Ireland are migrant workers) Not traffickers, not pimps but the women who the laws were purported to keep safe. 100% of the workers we speak to want to work together for safety. The law is failing and is being applied in a racist way. The Irish Human Rights and Equality Network report to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination drew attention to this fact.

Recent news has shown that some areas of the country cannot afford to take on new cases and cannot afford foot patrols. Garda resources are being squandered in an effort to police consensual sexual activity between adults. The laws have not reduced trafficking or indeed sex work.

Sex workers want to work with the Gardaí to make Ireland a safer place. This year a serial rapist was sentenced to 20 years for a spate of attack on sex workers. SWAI was the first point of contact for the victims and the collaboration with Gardaí took a dangerous criminal off the street. Think of what we could accomplish if the laws worked with sex workers, not against them.

This International Day to Eliminate Violence Against Sex Workers, let’s fight for everyone, even if they do a job you are not comfortable with. Fighting for the safety and health of women includes sex workers who cannot or will not give up sex work. We need to acknowledge that it is a job, often people’s last resort, do not take it away from them. The End Demand model does nothing to address the real needs of sex workers.

We need to decriminalise sex work so that sex workers can be safe in our jobs. I want to be proud to be in this country where we take care of everyone and where the laws really keep us safe!

This is the last International Day to Eliminate Violence Against Sex Workers before the review in 2020. We are concerned that the voices of currently working sex workers will be ignored in the review. Sex workers voices are invisible in Ireland. We in SWAI are not speaking over or for sex workers we ARE sex workers, and we need to be heard in the review of policies that affect our lives. We deserve to be listened to.”

2nd Annual Laura Lee lecture speech

December 9, 2019

Laura Lee lecture image

In November 2019 we spoke at the 2nd Annual Laura Lee lecture. We read out a speech by a male sex worker. Male sex workers are absent from the conversation about sex work in Ireland. His speech highlights the stigma and shame that exists around sex work. We have helped this man get refugee status and he is now pursuing a career in journalism. Below is the transcript.

I was asked by Sex Workers Alliance Ireland (SWAI) to participate in today’s event, but because of stigma and as I’m exiting migrant sex worker I’ve declined. So, I’ve decided to write some paragraphs to tell my story.
I’m Nando (of course, not my real name) and I’m originally from Venezuela. For about seven years I was a prostitute in the emerald island, because I didn’t have good luck finding a job and the choices were selling my body or drugs.
Back in my country I was a working professional and not even thought of having a sugar daddy during my years in college to get my degree in Journalism.
But when you’re abroad things change, drastically. I’m a gay male average built, dark-skinned fella with long black hair.
By that time, when I arrived in Dublin, I was 26 years old and I thought my look made me exotic for gays, or bi curious straight Irish guys.
So, since I didn’t have any luck finding a job, I decided to be a full-time escort. I have good and bad memories, but I clearly remember when in March 2017, the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017 was commenced into force.
While it has been an offence to buy sex in Ireland, I started to meet fewer clients little by little. I had to reduce to my rates and engage into chemsex to get punters, which I didn’t want to, because when you’re high, sometimes, clients take advantage of you.
I still remember there were hard years, just keeping my head above water. I tried a marriage of convenience and it didn’t work out. I just wasted about 10 thousand euros.
When I was totally undocumented and with my passport about to expire in few months, I looked for help and I was told by experts in immigration and even an NGO that because I was sex worker, I wouldn’t get any papers.
The only good thing, this NGO did was to put me in contact with SWAI. They contacted solicitor Wendy Lyon and she agreed to meet me for a consultation.
Wendy told me it was my right to claim asylum given the circumstances in Venezuela and it wouldn’t care I was an escort.
I was lucky enough to avoid staying in Direct Provision and I must say my case was sorted out in over a year.
After almost four hours interview, in August 2018, with an immigration officer from the International Protection Office in Dublin, unexpectedly I got letter in the first weeks of October of 2018, saying that I should get declaration as a refugee.
Being honest, the immigration officer never asked me how I survived during eight years in Dublin. I think it was good luck.
By the end of October 2018, I got my declaration as recognised refugee in the Republic of Ireland and that was just the beginning of another battle.
So, as I wasn’t getting enough money from sex work since 2017 and I got my papers back last year, I thought I would ask for my social welfare benefits, given they must treat me as any Irish citizen.
I remember the first time approached the Department of Social Protection they asked three times why I didn’t have a passport. I had to explain them it’s the first thing an immigration officer take from you when you claim asylum and showed my ministerial letter.
Last July as I’ve been getting my social welfare allowance, I decided I didn’t want to be an escort anymore, because not even my regular clients were visiting me and because for me there’s no more profits from sex work. It was all the time about money, even though I enjoyed meeting few guys for cash.
Nowadays, I’m happy retraining as Journalist in Dublin, getting the digital skills, and because I got my degree in my native Spanish language 10 years ago, but there are days when I feel scared, you know that they could use my past against me.
I hope to make peace with my past any time soon and be able, in a couple of years, to stand up in front you and tell my story without shame.
And if anybody dare to judge me say or even shout: Bitch! I’m a journalist and I was undercover getting a better inside in the oldest profession.

Press release: Condoms are used as evidence of sex work

December 1, 2019

With HIV diagnoses on the rise in Ireland as well as demands from clients empowered by a law that was supposed to help sex workers, workers now fear carrying condoms.

Kate McGrew, current sex worker and director of the Sex Workers Alliance Ireland (SWAI) said “Today is World AIDS Day. Ireland needs to wake up to the fact that there is an increase in HIV diagnoses each year here.

We were assured that our sex work laws, which changed to client criminalisation in 2017, would make us safer. Instead, they have caused a 92% rise in violent crimes against, ensured the jailing of migrant sex workers and tipped the balance of power towards our clients.

We hear of clients who demand that condoms are not worn. We know that ‘stealthing’, the practice of removing a condom during sex without the knowledge of the sexual partner, is increasing. SWAI has recently supported a migrant sex worker who was too afraid to tell the nurse that she was an escort, and was thus refused PEP, for not being considered part of a high-risk group. Sex workers are afraid to carry condoms now in case they are used as evidence that the purchase of sex work has occurred. All of this flies in the face of best practice of HIV prevention.

We all deserve to have health and safety but laws which police sexual expression, including transactional sex between consenting adults, lead to already marginalised people being pushed further into the margins. When sex workers, who in Ireland are mostly migrants, cannot work together in safety they take greater risks, such as shorter negotiations or lack of use of condoms. Stigma and shame lead to sex workers not attending services such as rape crisis centres or seeking justice if they have been a victim of a crime.”

In Ireland, we hear from workers that Gardai routinely take condoms as evidence of sex work as well as any money made, during a brothel raid, even when they do not make any arrests and only tell the women to move on. This leaves the workers with no money to travel and with no safe way to make money to do so. Sex workers and trans workers, in particular, are at high risk for HIV and any law that makes them less likely to practice safe sex or get tested has a detrimental effect on an already vulnerable population.

Misguided politicians have been led to believe that our laws save sex workers, but instead, they put them in harm’s way. SWAI is the only sex workers rights group in Ireland that puts sex workers at the centre of their policy. We join many other sex workers rights groups in calling for full decriminalisation of sex work, including clients so that workers can have healthy and safe lives free from stigma.”

Press release: Garda raids, pimps, reports and conferences this week but no one is asking sex workers what they need

November 28, 2019

Red umbrella yellow background Kate McGrew, current sex worker and director of the Sex Workers Alliance Ireland (SWAI) said today “The same Gardaí department who arrest us for working together for safety is the one who we are expected to report to if a crime is committed against us. Is it any wonder that sex worker trust in Gardaí is at an all-time low? Saying there is a culture of distrust shows a lack of understanding for this marginalised community. This year sex workers, including a pregnant worker, were given jail sentences for working together. Is it any wonder that workers are reluctant to report?”

“Since the Gardaí have apprehended the criminals who attacked and robbed workers in Roscommon and Dublin we have learned of other attacks by criminal gangs. Again, because of the massive distrust in Gardaí, sex workers will not report” she continued.

“We have also begun to hear of workers being contacted by men who are offering security. The law has created a space where pimps can flourish. Pimps are using the increased number of violent attacks on workers to attempt to line their pockets. Both the attacks and pimps are the direct consequence of sex work laws.

She also voiced concerns about the raids that occurred last week, in the third day of action by the Gardaí this year. “This week we have also learned of more raids and questioning of clients. Raids like these will decrease the numbers of clients who seek the services of workers, which is their aim. But with mounting Christmas expenses workers, many of whom are single mothers, will be forced to take more risks in order to make ends meet. How can the state claim to keep women safe if they are pushing us into more risky situations?”

SWAI was disappointed to learn that The LGBTI+ Inclusion Strategy released today has no inclusion of sex workers. Kate said “The LGBTI+ community make up a significant portion of sex workers in Ireland. Whether you support sex workers rights or not, it is a massive oversight not to include us in the Inclusion Strategy, especially at a time when chemsex and HIV diagnosis are on the rise. Trans sex workers make up 61% of the number of trans people who have been killed globally this year. Ignoring sex workers in the LGBTI+ community is ahistorical, we have always been central to the fight for LGBTI+ rights. Sex workers threw the first brick at Stonewall!

But SWAI was heartened to see IHREC’s inclusion of our sex work laws as a barrier to justice for sex workers, especially migrant sex workers. Our sex work laws are applied in a racist way, with young migrant women feeling the brunt of the law. Almost all of the sex workers prosecuted for working together for safety have been migrant women. We are concerned about due process as sex workers are routinely arrested, prosecuted and convicted with Gardaí acting as prosecutors. The criminalisation of any aspect of sex work, including client criminalisation, has had a detrimental effect on the lives of sex workers, many of whom are already marginalised. Bodily autonomy and privacy are human rights but these rights are routinely breached for sex workers because of the law. We join the Irish Human Right and Equality Commission in calling for a review of our sex work laws. SWAI insists that current sex workers be listened to in the review in 2020. Our stories are important evidence that the law is not fit for purpose.

We encourage workers who have been victims of a crime to come forward. We know that when we work together with Gardaí we can make Ireland a safer place. We need to decriminalise sex work so that workers will feel that the Garda will work with them in prosecuting their attackers. We all want the law to keep us safe.”

#DecrimforSafety #SupportSafeSexWork

Comment on arrests of attackers 20th November 2019

November 20, 2019

We deserve t be safe

Kate McGrew, current sex worker and director of the Sex Workers Alliance Ireland (SWAI) welcomes the news that arrests have been made following raids on suspected attackers. She said “We know that when sex workers and the Gardaí can work together we can make Ireland a safer place for everyone.

However, these arrests do little to assuage the fear and paranoia sex workers feel because of the law. These attacks are the direct consequence of a law that does not prioritise sex worker’s safety and instead focused on a vain attempt to end demand for sex work.”

She continued “Everyone wants sex workers to be safe but we need to be realistic about what the laws introduced in 2017 have actually accomplished. We have seen a 92% increase in violent crime against sex workers and a marked decrease in the probability of sex workers reporting a crime against them to the Gardaí. One client has been taken to court and many more workers have been prosecuted.

Forcing sex workers to work alone under the so-called brothel-keeping laws makes them a target for criminals such as these attackers. Driving sex workers to the margins by criminalising the purchase of sex or forcing them to break the law to work together in safety is detrimental to the safety of sex workers.

Gardaí resources are wasted on attempting to police consensual sex work. An Garda Siochana are already stretched thin. We want sex work decriminalised so sex workers are no longer afraid to engage with the police.”

Press release: Men ignored by sex work law because it does not suit the ‘helpless victim’ propaganda, says university expert

November 19, 2019

Men and sex work Men ignored by sex work law because it does not suit the ‘helpless victim’ propaganda, says university expert

Availability of PrEP through HSE from this month a major step in addressing HIV, speaker from DCU explains

Men were excluded in the formulation of current laws criminalising sex work, because to include them would expose the fallacy that this work involves only helpless victims, Dr. Paul Ryan, Asst Professor in the Department of Sociology, Maynooth University, stated at a meeting in Dublin today (Sunday Nov. 17th).

Speaking at the second in a series of ‘Soundhouse Sundays’, organised by Kate McGrew (aka Lady Grew) of Sex Workers Alliance Ireland (SWAI), on themes related to sex work and the law, Paul Ryan said that “the proponents of this law needed victims and perpetrators to argue for strict legal solutions. It difficult to differentiate these categories in male sex work, so it was conveniently and deliberately ignored.

“Organisations advocating criminalisation systematically distort the facts to portray all sex workers as hopeless, hapless and helpless. This is a totally false portrayal of the reality of sex workers. It is very obviously so in the case of male sex work,” Paul Ryan said.

“Many men, women and trans sex workers, especially migrants to Ireland, become involved very deliberately for economic reasons to, for instance, escape the housing crisis and the grip of slum landlords.

“Or, given the approaching season, to raise funds for loved ones here at Christmastime or support their impoverished families in their home countries.”

He said that the ‘criminalisation of sex work’ law is, in fact, all about stigma and little about addressing real issues real issues like poverty and disadvantage.

“Meanwhile, out in the real world, the industry is becoming more mainstream in a variety of ways. University students, for example, are increasingly entrants to the sex industry.

“Conventional sex work websites are being displaced by, for instance, gay dating apps like Grindr where men are propositioned by men. These men don’t see themselves in the conventional sense as sex workers, and, of course are conveniently not regarded as such by the pro-criminalisation lobby. They certainly do not seek ‘rescue’,” Paul Ryan said.

Robert Lawlor, Dublin City University and Co-Founder of Access to Medicines Ireland, said that the emergence of new treatments, especially Pre Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), can help to end both the stigma and fear around male sex work and the broader issue of HIV in the community.

PrEP is a medication taken by HIV-negative people to reduce the chance of getting HIV from sex or sharing equipment to inject or use drugs. From 4th November 2019, it is available free of charge in Ireland to those who meet the clinical eligibility criteria.

Robert Lawlor said that “95% of all people on this HIV medication have HIV levels that are undetectable and therefore medically untransmissable, also known as U=U.

“There are, however, still an estimated 700 people living with HIV in Ireland who do not know their status. By promoting U=U, we are promoting sexual liberation not just for people living with HIV but for all those who do not have the virus.

“For people who stay on their medication it is impossible for them to transmit the virus through sexual contact.

“This message creates a paradigm shift in how the public should think of those living with HIV. We encourage everyone who may have even a slight fear of having contracted HIV to know their status and, if necessary, get on HIV treatment. This, in turn, will see the rate of new HIV diagnoses in Ireland plummet.

“For sex workers this is empowering. People living with HIV can become the safest people to have sex with in regards to HIV, Robert Lawlor said.