Director of Sex Workers Alliance Ireland (SWAI) Kate McGrew (middle) at a sex workers conference in Stockhom, Sweden this afternoon
This afternoon.
In Stockholm, Sweden.
The International Committee on the Rights of Sex Workers in Europe (ICRSWE) is hosting a conference to mark the 20th anniversary of the Swedish Model.
Irish solicitor Wendy Lyon is live-tweeting from the conference, entitled Sex Work, Human Rights And Health: Assessing 20 Years Of Swedish Model, including a contribution from the director of the Sex Workers Alliance Ireland Kate McGrew.
From her tweetz:
.@LadyGrew now up, apologises for speaking on behalf of migrant sex workers in Ireland (even though she’s American) #ffconf
— Wendy Lyon (@wendylyon) September 30, 2019
In Ireland, some workers have had to drop their prices to attract clients, some clients are avoiding particular nationalities out of fear of police attention #ffconf
— Wendy Lyon (@wendylyon) September 30, 2019
.@SWAIIreland recently met Ombudsman over policing. A sex worker who’d been raped by a police officer that had raided her premises earlier complained but her complaint was dismissed #ffconf
— Wendy Lyon (@wendylyon) September 30, 2019
So you’re telling us sex work is paid rape but when a Garda pressures a sex worker to have sex with him that’s consensual? #ffconf
— Wendy Lyon (@wendylyon) September 30, 2019
Now referring to findings from the DOJ-NI study which show what a giant dud the Swedish model has been (see my pinned tweet for more details!) #ffconf
— Wendy Lyon (@wendylyon) September 30, 2019
Clients in Ireland know that prostitution is policed through brothel raids, so now they’re asking us are we alone. That used to be a red flag but now we can’t use that to screen out dangerous clients #ffconf
— Wendy Lyon (@wendylyon) September 30, 2019
Our “liaison officers” come from the police crackdown unit so we can’t trust that you’re not going to pass on inforrmation about where I work or my immigration status. Clients also know this. #ffconf
— Wendy Lyon (@wendylyon) September 30, 2019
We worked with 3 Czech workers and supported them to make a police report, testify against him, he got 20 year sentence. But next week we learned another man was back attacking workers – and none of them would talk to liaison officers because of the brothel laws #ffconf
— Wendy Lyon (@wendylyon) September 30, 2019
“Trafficking” can mean anything and everything in Ireland. Rarely do they check the indicators. Often the police just take the workers’ money and say go home. If you’re lucky they might give you plane fare. #ffconf
— Wendy Lyon (@wendylyon) September 30, 2019
Most sex workers don’t even know they can plead not guilty to brothel keeping laws – most of them are just run through the system. (thanks for the shout-out Kate ☺️) #ffconf
— Wendy Lyon (@wendylyon) September 30, 2019
We insisted on three year review and this is coming up soon – we’re part of five research projects to gather data. Doing a six-month campaign to try to draw attention to it and try to reach people’s hearts and minds, get them to ask questions of their politicians #ffconf
— Wendy Lyon (@wendylyon) September 30, 2019
The other side will weaponise anything they can against us. They play dirty. #ffconf
— Wendy Lyon (@wendylyon) September 30, 2019
We will be asking at least for legal clarification of the brothel keeping law. Police gonna police but if we can at least get them to stop pretending that they’re going after exploiters and not us, that’s a start. #ffconf
— Wendy Lyon (@wendylyon) September 30, 2019
Antis say they didn’t want sex workers prosecuted under brothel keeping laws. We’re putting it up to them to join us in fighting to have the law changed. #ffconf
— Wendy Lyon (@wendylyon) September 30, 2019
Earlier, Wendy tweeted the contribution from Adeline Berry…
We are facing an HIV epidemic in Ireland and yet migrant sex workers are afraid of carrying condoms as these can be used as evidence against them #ffconf
— Wendy Lyon (@wendylyon) September 30, 2019
Clients are increasingly demanding unprotected sex. There have been at least 7 extremely violent robberies targeting lone sex workers – the ringleader is well known to police but sex workers aren’t willing to report to Gardaí #ffconf
— Wendy Lyon (@wendylyon) September 30, 2019
A sex worker who was working to pay for her son’s kidney operation was fined and the money that she’d earned was ordered diverted to Ruhama #ffconf
— Wendy Lyon (@wendylyon) September 30, 2019
Sex workers are being evicted with gardaí threatening to report their landlords, including myself – @adeline_whitney #ffconf
— Wendy Lyon (@wendylyon) September 30, 2019
Follow Wendy here
Meanwhile…
Yesterday, in Stockholm…
The mighty @LadyGrew #ffconf #sexworkiswork #decrimforsafety pic.twitter.com/27Ney3TV3t
— Wendy Lyon (@wendylyon) September 29, 2019
Ms McGrew addressed a crowd gathered for the first ever sex worker rights protest in Stockholm, during which they called for an end to the Swedish Model.
Related: No council for (some) women: the NWCI and the silencing of sex workers (Wendy Lyon, Feminist Ire)
Previously: Let’s Talk About Sex Work
Woh woh woh! Hang on a minute here….
The swedish model should be allowed to engage in sex work is he/she/they so choose.
im sure there’ll be lots of sensitive comments from the fine upstanding broadsheet commenters on this one.
maybe everyone is a sex worker
screwed by the revenue
trafficked to work made to produce then when old beyond the age to reproduce drained of every bit by our caring social services
anything then left taken in death duties
give me Swedish model any day
I wouldn’t believe a word that comes out of the mouth of an organisation that is campaigning for a criminal activity, which, with cross-party consent, FF-FG-Labour-SF in the South and SF-DUP-SDLP-UUP in the North was the subject of similar legislation across the entire island. Purchasing sex is a crime. Offering sex from a premises with two or more prostitutes is a crime. It’s sound law. My own experience with the sector is it is dominated by organised crime groups and most prostitutes are trafficked or extremely vulnerable, often with addiction issues.
Thankfully, there is evidence the Gardai are now enforcing the law. Last week’s crime statistics for Q2,2019 showed there were 40 prostitution offences recorded in Q2,2019. That’s more than in each of the entire 2017 and 2018. In the South Eastern policing division for example, there were 8 offences recorded inQ2,2019, that’s twice the number recorded overall in 2017 and 2018.
Four people have been convicted of purchasing sex under the 2017 legislation and 20 more files are with the DPP for a prosecution decision. In January 2019, Bryan Mason, aged 65, with an address at Moatlands, Ratoath, Co Meath, was fined €200 in relation to the purchase of sexual services at West End Village, Blanchardstown, Dublin, on March 30, 2018. He was the first of #4. Our brave media have decided not to report the other three convictions, but you can bet that future convictions will end up online.
The law is beginning to work as practically all our political representatives have intended. Wendy can fupp off with herself.
Oh and “@SWAIIreland recently met Ombudsman over policing. A sex worker who’d been raped by a police officer that had raided her premises earlier complained but her complaint was dismissed”
So, the Gardai didn’t take the complaint seriously and neither did the Ombudsman? Any chance at all that the prostitute was making it up? And the allegation is being exploited by an organisation campaigning for a criminal activity? Also, what would change if prostitution was legalised – would Gardai stop raping prostitutes (allegedly).
And Wendy whatever can fupp off as well.
fupp off for free, like?
the police you praise are literally raping these women. i bet you read that, you just don’t care. it’s their own fault right? you’re an abhorrent prick.
Prostitutes are for losers. Seriously, there are plenty of amazing women out in bars every night of the week on the prowl for some safe fun. Men need to scrub up, grow a pair and activate the 3 second rule.
The 3 second rule?
You can still eat it if it is on the ground less that 3 seconds?
often referred to as the Belfast scrum
what a rather sad comment cormac
ok, neckbeard
For the boys among us.
https://puamore.com/wiki/3-second-rule/
Took me at least 10 years to get my wife’s attention …
Her eyesight’s not the best, bless her.
1.5 seconds for your Mom though, aul dote, has amazing eyesight!
Ivana read more on this in the Irish Times.
The reality is that prostitution is the oldest profession in the world and the likes
Ruhama who pushed for and got the Irish Model of the Swedish version have
only driven the game underground instead it should be legalised and the
subject of proper controls, the reality is that there are at least in some cities
and not so large towns hundreds and dozens respectively advertising their
“talents” on Escort Ireland, and if our ancestors could not control human
desires, Ruhama certainly won’t…..even Frank Duff failed in the end.
Show me these amazing women.Absolutely it should be legalised and taxed to the hilt like every other profession.
Is there training provided or an apprenticeship.
The National Womens Council of Ireland are a no friend to the people of Ireland. They leach an incredible amount of public money every year and are responsible for her highness Frances Fitzgerald getting elected again. They are a interest group with some very vested interests.
That said I wouldn’t rush to support Wendy Lyon either (and neither should Broadsheet – alas the ‘sheet has always had a soft spot for liars/spoofers/Public sector unions giving us the poor mouth)
Here’s link to her blog wherein she likens anyone who reckons Mags Cash shouldn’t have had 7 children is a Magdelane Laundries supporting misogynist and also (same blog post) that women who do housework should get paid for it (yes out of our taxes).
https://feministire.com/2018/08/13/no-more-than-she-deserves/#comments
APOLOGIES that blog post was written by Sinéad Redmond and not Wendy Lyon. But Wendy is indeed a contributor to feministIre.