Nine women for sale today in cavan

As nine women are advertised on just one website for sale in Cavan, the government is preparing to publish new laws to combat the exploitation of women and girls in prostitution and human trafficking.

The Men’s Development Network Ltd, a group that is part of the ‘Turn Off the Red Light Campaign’, is calling on all TDs and Senators in Cavan and Monaghan to support the proposals expected to be published next month as part of the Sexual Offences Bill.

It’s expected that the bill will include laws to target the buyers of sex whose actions are fuelling these crimes similar to those introduced in Northern Ireland earlier this year.

Since June 1, it is a crime for anyone to pay for sex in the North. Under the new Northern Ireland legislation, which sees the region become the first in the UK to adopt such a ban, anyone caught paying for sex faces up to a year in prison and a fine of £1,000.

The new laws prompted a flood of sex tourism to the republic, particularly in border counties, which saw an increase in the number of women available for sale on websites. Today, there are nine women (including on trans-sexual) available for sale in County Cavan on just one well-known website.

Alan O’Neill (CEO) and Rebecca Beegan (Campaign Co-ordinator) from the Men’s Development Network and White Ribbon Ireland added: “We have been greatly encouraged by the level of local support and are now calling on politicians from all sides to unite and send out the message loud and clear that Ireland is no longer a soft target for pimps, traffickers and those who inflict great harm onto women.”

They continued: “This is a significant milestone in efforts to combat these crimes and the moment has arrived for those of us who have united under the banner of the Turn Off The Red Light Campaign to change the focus of the law from the seller of sex to the buyers, in other words, those whose actions have brought pimps and traffickers into our communities.”

Rebecca Beegan added: “Prostitution is a predominately female experience and causes great psychological and physical harm to women who are involved in the sex trade.”

She cited causes of death among prostitutes as homicide, suicide, drug and alcohol related problems, HIV and accidents.

“We know that there are at least 800-1000 women available on-line every day and are sold repeatedly,” said Ms Beegan who said that the current laws in Ireland are “ineffective” at protecting women.

The organisation estimates that €250m is taken from Ireland every year by pimps and traffickers. “We cannot allow those who profit from women’s misery to continue doing so. We must target the demand, and this means criminalising the purchaser, pimps and those who organise and buy another human being. One in 15 men in Ireland buy sex at any one time. This is a significant number equivalent to a full attendance at Croke Park. This buying of sex contributes to women’s misery in the sex trade and impedes women’s full and equal participation in society. Those selling sex, mainly women, must not face criminal sanctions. Prostitution is not a job that a woman chooses: for the majority of women they enter into prostitution because they have no other options. We must also provide assistance to women who need support to exit prostitution and we must increase our own awareness of prostitution and sexual exploitation in this country,” said Ms Beegan.

The organisation is further calling on members of the public to support the regulations by logging on to www.turnofftheredlight.ie/action/