The national parliament of Ireland is debating whether or not to penalise sex buyers rather than prostitutes in order to tackle the problem of exploitation of women. The laws currently penalise prostitutes rather than those who use their services. Do you think this could be an effective solution?
“The recommendations of this report are a validation of the need to shift the focus of the law from those who are vulnerable and exploited in prostitution, who need support and not convictions - towards the sex buyers. Criminalising those who fuel the demand for women and girls for their own sexual satisfaction is the most effective way to tackle trafficking and exploitation of prostitution and we hope that this simple but important amendment to the law will be implemented swiftly. It has argued this would drive down prostitution levels. It also claimed that decriminalising the status of prostitutes would help reduce the stigma and make it easier for them to approach gardai and seek other support services.”
Where there is demand there will be always be supply. I seriously can’t see this working, all it will do is put women in danger through illegal prostitution rings/black-market.
Prostitution is probably one of the oldest forms of trade and will carry on in which ever form.
This is clearly a sexist law that says it ok for a woman to sell sex because its her body her choice, but a crime for a man to pay for her. The same liberty is not extended to men.
Ireland politics is heavily influenced by feminist lobby, just like Sweden and in future they will make more laws that favor women at the expense of men.
Those who rally against sex work (feminists and a handful of right wing religious nuts) are deep down not exactly concerned about the sex workers. They have a more fundamental issue with paid sex that goes beyond exploitation, trafficking and slavery (which is always blown out of proportions anyway) They have their own agenda regarding what they feel is right or wrong. You will always find that those who have real concern for sex workers actually do work for them.
The anti-sex work brigade tends to inflate the trafficking statistics. Every foreign woman working as a prostitute by default becomes ‘trafficked’. Despite in most cases it simply being a movement of labor from low income to a high income nation.
Feminists just have an ideological issue with men paying for sex.
agree with PS both should be penalized… But wouldn’t a more effective solution be to take a long hard look at the root causes that drive women to prostitution and then address those issues?
The law may be passed with the best of intentions, and it may even serve to deter people from indulging in fornication openly. However, to effectively achieve the desired results, the root cause of it must be looked at. It has to be an individual and community-based effort. Law will be enforced in public sphere, but people who either depend on it as means to survival or those who indulge in it as a matter of addiction will just find other ways; it’ll just go underground.
Kind of reminds of the Prohibition that was put in place on Alcohol. That law eventually got reversed because the public was still consuming alcohol, infact because it was being done privately in less than desired conditions, the make-shift factories were churning out poison in some cases because there was no sense of regulation in place.
I personally feel the law may serve as a minor deterrent in public life, but the problem will still exist. The supply/demand chain will just divert methods of delivery.
errr…why should women be punished for offering a service? They aren’t in Holland and other European countries. What should be punished is the trafficking of women. I would personally not pay for sex, but if its between two consenting adults and does not harm a third - let them do what they want.