Statement: Bacik welcomes Justice Committee Report on Prostitution Law

BACIK WELCOMES JUSTICE COMMITTEE REPORT ON PROSTITUTION LAW

Senator Ivana Bacik, Labour Senator for Dublin University,
Thursday 27^th June 2013

Speaking today (27th June) in the Seanad, Senator Ivana Bacik welcomed the launch this morning of the report on prostitution law produced by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality.

Speaking today, Senator Bacik said:

“As a member of the Justice Committee who was very closely involved in the hearings on prostitution law and the preparation of this report, I am really delighted that we have now unanimously recommended the introduction in Ireland of prostitution legislation similar to that in place in Sweden. The Turn off the Red Light campaign here in Ireland, to which the Labour Party is affiliated, has been seeking the introduction of similar legislation here for some years.

“Since the introduction in Sweden of legislation in 1999 criminalising those who purchase sex, street prostitution in that country has been halved; and Norway and Iceland have now followed the Swedish example and passed similar legislation. Our Justice Committee delegation, of which I was a member, travelled to Sweden in November 2012, and we were very impressed by the operation of the legislation there. I urge the Minister for Justice to adopt the recommendations of the Justice Committee and bring forward legislation without delay to criminalise the purchase, but not the sale, of sex. This model of legislation has been proven to work best in combating both sexual trafficking and the exploitation of individuals through prostitution. It is also effective in reducing the demand for prostitution; and it symbolises the important view that it is socially and legally unacceptable to buy the use of another's body for sex.”

ENDS