two sex workers in their 20s jailed

Adrina P (25) and Ana T (20) were raided in November last year. They were jailed for nine months last week. I haven't given their full names even though they are in the media because this kind of exposure is harmful to sex workers.

This is the reality of the Nordic model, which has been in place in Ireland since 2017. You might say that prostitutes have always been jailed for 'brothel keeping', but the penalties were doubled when the new law came in. This is how the Nordic model was meant to work, they pretend that prostitutes are decriminalized. The welfare of women is a low priority; nothing must get in the way of their futile war against prostitution by any means necessary.

Sex workers say Kildare ‘brothel’ arrests prove law is not fit for purpose Belfast Telegraph June 10 2019 The two women, one of whom is pregnant, were jailed for nine months at Naas District Court last week.

Jailing of sex workers keeping brothel shows law ‘not fit for purpose’ Irish Times June 10 2019 ‘Nordic model’ legislation does not protect those selling sex, says alliance

Feminists, if you support the ‘Nordic’ approach to sex work, you’re co-signing the imprisonment of women The Independent

A change in Irish law was meant to help sex workers. So why are they being jailed? The Guardian June 12 2019

This article is even more recent.

Police question dozens in prostitution crackdown Independent.ie 14 June 14 2019 Kate McGrew, director of Sex Workers Alliance Ireland, said more women had been prosecuted for “so-called” brothel keeping, what she termed working together in safety.

Here are articles which show the introduction of the Nordic model in Ireland has been a disaster.

‘It’s clearly a brothel, yet nothing can be done’ Irish Times 29 July 2017 The vast majority of those targeted for brothel keeping are eastern European women; only three Irish people have been prosecuted in the past three years. The usual penalty is a fine, and about 35 per cent have received jail terms.

Does the Nordic model work? What happened when Ireland criminalised buying sex New Statesman March 26 2018 Another effect of the legislation was to double the punishment for brothel-keeping in an attempt to crack down on pimping. Irish law defines a brothel as a place where two or more people work, meaning women working in pairs for safety reasons can be charged for pimping each other.

Buying sex has been illegal in Ireland for one year but 'very little' has changed thejournal.ie February 23 2018

How the Irish State is Failing Sex Workers Rebel September 13 2018

FactCheck: Would a new government bill really decriminalise sex workers? thejournal.ie 18 September 2016

Man, 65, is the first convicted of buying sex Irish Examiner 22 January 2019 €200 fine

Finally, a couple of good news stories.

Nurses vote to back decriminalisation of prostitution Royal College of Nurses to lobby UK government in move to protect sex workers’ health The Guardian 1 June 2019

Mexico City will decriminalize sex work in move against trafficking The Guardian 20 May 2019

You might think that I am only criticizing the Nordic model because it would stop me from paying for sex. I know enough about it to know that it doesn't stop men from paying for sex. I have read the reports: there is just as much prostitution in Sweden today as there was 20 years ago.

Over the years I have met many women in prostitution and usually they are good people. I don't like the idea that they could be jailed for nine months. People who demonize men like me aren't going to believe that I care more about the welfare of women than they do.

These two young women have had their lives ruined. When they leave prison they will probably be deported. They may never be able to work. Any time anyone Googles their names it will come up 'prostitute'. It would not be surprising if they end up walking the streets at night in a red light district in Bucharest and die of an overdose or are murdered.

You may say they brought it upon themselves by coming to Ireland, selling sex, and trying to keep themselves safe by working together. They won't be doing that again. They brought it upon themselves. They were told though that Ireland had decriminalised prostitutes, that they were regarded as victims. You don't put victims in jail.

It will be Rachel Moran and Frances Fitzgerald who will be responsible for whatever happens to these two women. They are the ones who brought this vicious and hypocritical system to Ireland. Ireland has always had a problem with its 'fallen women' and that continues today. Fitzgerald is the former Minister for Justice and Equality. Where is the justice? Where is the equality?

I will be Googling the names of the jailed women in the years to come because I want to know what happens to them. I won't forget them the way that everyone forgot the three women who were arrested alongside the first punter to be arrested when the Nordic model came to Northern Ireland. If I could find out their names I would Google them too.

We need to record the arrests in Nordic model countries. We need to record if they are male or female, and their ages. How many of the arrests are of women in their 20s? Deportations and evictions should be recorded too.

Moran writes in her book about the decriminalisation of prostitutes in the Nordic model. That's the only time she uses the word. No mention of decriminalisation in the context of New Zealand. There is no proper discussion of the issues in her book.

So you might think that I don't accept the Nordic model. If the Nordic model was applied as it is supposed to be applied I wouldn't have a problem. I could accept the risk of a 200 euro fine. There has only been one punter convicted in Ireland, and he was given a €200 fine. Not much chance of detection then. Even if you are convicted, it just means you've spent more than you anticipated. I'm not bothered if anyone knows what I've been up to either. I wouldn't be deterred.

It's the reality of the Nordic model that I can never accept. I can never accept the jailing of prostitutes, or any of the extra-judicial punishments that they face eg eviction. Theory and practice are two different things, and the system can only spread through deceit.

Make no mistake, the punishment of women under the Nordic model is essential to that system. It's not a hangover from a previous system. It's not an unintended consequence that will be corrected by Moran campaigning for an adjustment and Fitzgerald taking notice. Moran isn't happy with the way the model has turned out in Ireland but she is goading the police into even more repressive measures.

There are political parties in Nordic model countries who want to get rid of the system. One way to do that would be to say "We don't want to get rid of the Nordic model, we want to implement the REAL Nordic model, one where women is their 20s don't get arrested". They would gain a lot of support, but of course people like Julie Bindel wouldn't be happy about that.

Radical Feminists like Bindel wouldn't be happy, but just as many feminists are third-wave sex positive feminists. Why should they be ignored? I'd like to see what answer Bindel could come up with if progressive parties in northern and southern Ireland campaigned for the true decriminalisation of prostitutes.

Frances Fitzgerald has said not prosecuting women would be a 'legal loophole'. That doesn't make any sense: under no circumstances should women in their 20s be arrested. Whatever scenario you're thinking of, they should not be arrested. They might be independent, pretending to be independent but pimped, or pimped: in none of these cases should they be arrested. "Women would come under pressure to claim they were working independently" she says. That shouldn't make any difference.

She wants to try to stamp out prostitution by any means necessary and for her the end justifies the means. The end will never be realised though, and so repressive measures will continue for decades to come as has happened in Sweden.

The 'Nordic Model Now!' site state this:-

"Legalising small groups of prostituted women operating from the same premises would serve to legitimise prostitution and put the “right” of men to buy sexual access and the “right” of prostituted women to operate in groups above the rights of all women and girls to not be commercially sexually exploited, and to be free from sexual violence, and of communities to dignity and safety for their most vulnerable members."

So they know about the issue but don't believe that women have a right to work together. So they don't believe in decriminalisation for prostitutes. They believe they should be jailed because of 'dignity and safety'! I've got a better idea. Instead of jailing them, just re-open the old Magdalene Laundries. They can wash their sins away the Ruhama way.

Doing Money

On the 5th of November there was a drama shown on BBC Two which told the story of a woman involved in prostitution. It was called 'Doing Money'. The drama is based on a book that claims to be a true story, called 'Slave' by Anna (not her real name).

This is what is printed on the back of the book:-

"This is the heart-breaking true story of one of the UK's most shocking modern-day slavery cases.
Anna was an innocent student living in London when she was kidnapped, beaten and forced into the sex slave industry. Threatened and tormented by her pimps, she was made to have sex with thousands of men."

This book has nothing to say about the sex industry in Britain. She was taken from London to Ireland, and put to work in Dublin, Galway and Belfast. Some women were also taken to Sweden.

This is curious, because there are many brothels in London. Why were women taken to Ireland and Sweden? Could it be that gangsters like Ionut and Schwarz thrive in areas where prostitution is underground?

Swedish authorities say that Sweden is less of an attraction to traffickers now because of the law they have had since 1999 which criminalises men who pay for sex. That can only be guesswork though, and this book seems to be saying that Sweden is more of an attraction than than London or Manchester.

If this is true then having the same law in the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland will be counter-productive. Anna helped to bring this law about in Northern Ireland.

If you want to learn about one aspect of prostitution in Ireland and Sweden then you can watch Doing Money. If you want to learn about prostitution in Britain then A Very British Brothel and First Time Call Girl. They are both documentaries and they are consistent with my experience of prostitution.

Since I have read Rachel Moran's book Paid For I am struck by the differences between the two books. They can't both be 'the reality' of prostitution. Perhaps prostitution in Ireland in the 1990s was different to what happens now. Moran's book, together with three studies of Dublin sex workers, paint a picture of Ireland where things got more violent after the 1993 law. It seems that after the 2017 law things are getting even more violent. Yet this book helped to bring in the 2017 law.

These are the three studies of Dublin sex workers

• The Health Needs of Women working in prostitution in the Republic of Ireland 1994 O'Connor 
• Women Working in Prostitution: towards a healthier future 1996 O'Connor O'Neill Foran 
• Drug using women working in prostitution 1999 O'Connor O'Neill

Neither Moran's book nor these three studies say anything about women being kidnapped from the streets by violent pimps and raped. What one of the studies says is this

 "Three (17%) of the women felt very strongly that the new law is leading to the emergence of pimps (male protectors) and therefore, an increase in violence and intimidation on the streets. One said "anyone with enough money to rent an apartment and a mobile phone can go into business as a pimp. These men are offering protection and a "safe house" to women who are working. "They leech (latch) onto the women providing protection and paying bail, that's when the violence comes in"." O'Connor, A.M. (1994)

 It was the 1993 law which created the world that Anna experienced. Well-meaning but counter-productive laws create the problem and don't solve it. The 2017 law in Ireland as far as we can tell is like the 1993 law in that it will and has created more problems than it solved.

 Now we have an up to date study of prostitution in Northern Ireland. It is A Review of the Criminalisation of Paying for Sexual Services in Northern Ireland 2019 by Ellison, Ní Dhónaill and Early. It doesn't confirm what Anna, Rachel Moran and Lord Maurice Morrow have said about prostitution in Northern Ireland. If you want to know the reality of prostitution in Northern Ireland I suggest you read this report.

I have been following the case of Karl Ring and Ivett Szuda. Ring was sentenced to four years imprisonment with Szuda sent down for six and a half years. They were found guilty of human trafficking, controlling prostitution for gain, and 'money laundering'. They were not violent, and the most coercive thing they did was to take away some women's passports. This is not acceptable, but happens with migrant workers in different industries.

They rented flats in Chelsea Cloisters in London to women who wanted to work as prostitutes. They organized air travel between Eastern Europe and London. This is probably the reality of traffickers, at least in London. What happens in Ireland and Sweden could be different.

Below is one woman's experience, you couldn't get further from Anna's:-

"She showed me around the flat and she offered me two rooms. The smaller room was £60 per day and the bigger one for £80 per day." She explained that Szuda gave her a key to the flat at Chelsea Cloisters, which operated like a hotel. "The hotel had a reception and it worked like a hotel system but the rooms had kitchens and bathrooms,' she said. "They were basically hotel apartments. There was another girl when I arrived and she was doing sex work and there was another one who was just doing massage only. Everyone had their own rooms." But she said business was so bad for her that she went back to Hungary after six days. Another woman working for the couple went on holidays with Szuda and other prostitutes to the Bahamas and Miami as "team building exercises".

One woman said "On a good day I would see three to four clients a day, I earned £60 from each." So she earned £240 per day for what sounds like four hours work. She could stop anytime she wanted - like the woman who went back to Hungary after 6 days. She didn't have to do anything she didn't want - like the woman who was just doing massage only. Does this sound anything like the situation that Anna was in?

I think that the prohibitionists should think very carefully about what they want. Britain might become like Ireland and Sweden where the criminals reign. Just like in prohibition America where the do-gooders thought they were getting rid of a problem - alcohol - and they were just making it worse. Much, much, worse. Be careful what you wish for.

Novelist Liz Jensen said that men who use prostitutes should watch the drama and end up "squirming and feeling deeply regretful". I haven't watched the drama but I have read the book, and Rachel Moran's book. I have read the three reports on prostitution in Ireland in the 1990s. I have also kept up to date about trafficking through recent research and news reports. My conclusion is that it is abolitionists who have created this problem not people like me. Caring about people means looking at all the evidence and thinking about it deeply. It doesn't mean getting caught up in a drama. Don't think you can watch a drama and then you're an expert.