RSS
News


Irish group proposes men be charged for purchasing sex - SEE POLL

Group pushes to prevent women in the sex industry being charged for selling sex


Ireland has a massive sex trade, largely made up of foreign women, which operates out of massage parlors and hotel rooms.
Ireland has a massive sex trade, largely made up of foreign women, which operates out of massage parlors and hotel rooms.


IrishCentral.com Poll

Do you believe men should be charged for buying sex?

Yes.


No.


Irish music icon Christy Moore is leading a campaign to soften prostitiution laws in Ireland, calling for change that would prevent women from being charged with a crime for selling sex.

The newly formed Turn Off the Red Light campaign has been formed by a group called Ruhama, a Dublin-based organization which works with prostitutes.

The group is proposing that men should be charged with a crime for purchasing sex, in keeping with Nordic law which places the onus on men for soliciting prostitutes, instead of charging the women with a crime.

A number of high-profile male notables in Ireland, including Moore, poet Theo Dorgan and writer/director Peter Sheridan, brother of Oscar nominee Jim Sheridan, have lent their support to the Ruhama campaign.

In particular, Sheridan admits he used to think that an even sex exchange between a man and a woman was on the up and up, until Ruhama unveiled the violence and poverty that many prostitutes in Ireland endure, not to mention the conditions they work under.

“It’s frightening to think it’s the woman for sale, not the sex act. It’s a form of slavery,” Sheridan said.

Ruhama backers are campaigning to make it a crime for men to engage with sex acts with a prostitute. Current Irish law makes it a crime to solicit sex from a prostitute on the street, but it is not a criminal offense to buy or sell sex.

Ruhama is aiming for a new law which would ban men from buying sex from a woman. The law would still allow for women to be prosecuted for soliciting, but not for the sale of sex.

​


6 Comments

See all comments

Would you still believe Ruhama's claims if you knew their founding members are just the two organisations that committed the crimes against humanity in the magdalene laundries?
No joking matter, at all. Christy Moore, Theo Dorgan, and Peter Sheridan are real men. They have my utmost respect for helping to end human-trafficking. Bravo!
IN THESE HARD TIMES surely any industry and commerce is welcome. The only queston is: How can the State make money from it? ~~~ A Garda spokesman said: "I tink dey arr working on a kinda Meter ting dat she puts on furst, dat will work out te time taken and how many trusts he had ta make, and so on, ta work out how much Tax is due"
Don't know why they pay for it in the first place..Pretty easy to get it for free these days.
Everybody is getting to serious when all he wanted to do was poke a little fun.
Aren't men already being charged? The cheap swine...
 


IrishCentral logo
"Like" IrishCentral
IrishCentral Mobile QR code


Connect to IrishCentral with your Facebook account


or Sign-Up directly

Already Registered? Sign-In!

Welcome to IrishCentral!
Please provide the following information in order to create your account

Username:
E-Mail Address:
Password:
Confirm Password:
I agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy


Already Registered? Sign-In!
Forgot my password

Welcome to IrishCentral!
All we need is the following information and you will be part of the #1 Irish community in the US

E-Mail Address:
First select a unique username:
Username:
Now choose a password:
Password:
Confirm Password:
I agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
Thank you!

Just one more step and you will be part of the largest Irish community in America! Tell us a little more about you to start enjoying all the features of IrishCentral.

Additional Information:

First Name:
Last Name:
Date of Birth:
Zip:
Gender: Male  Female 
Country:

Degree of Irishness:
Household Income:
Level of Education:

Subscribe to our newsletters:

The Best of IrishCentral - Daily Newsletter
Special Offers from our sponsors

or
Skip

You can edit your information at any time, just go to "my account" when you're logged in.

Log into IrishCentral with your Facebook account


or sign-in directly

E-Mail:
Password:
 Remember me Forgot my password
Not a member? Register Now!
submit to reddit
print this article Print
email this articleE-mail