The Turn off the Red Light (TORL) campaign advocated for the introduction of new legislation to address prostitution and human trafficking. The campaign called on the Irish government to introduce legislation to end the exploitation of women, men and children in the sex industry. It advocated for the introduction of legislation that criminalised the purchase of sexual acts, in addition to criminalising pimping, procuring and trafficking of persons for sexual exploitation. In recognition of the vulnerability of those involved and exploited in prostitution this campaign also called for legislation that decriminalises the persons who are prostituted.
The website will document a number of key strategies that supported the introduction of the Sexual Offences Act 2017. Within the new legislation, there are provisions that criminalise the purchase of sexual acts and decriminalise the persons who are prostituted. The new legislation was enacted in February 2017. There is a planned review period of less than three years for this provision.
To find out about who was involved in the campaign and what drove us, visit here.
To find out about the origins of this website and its authors, see here.
“It felt like a prison…. If you refused to have anal sex you had to pay a penalty or the ‘security’ men would beat you up.”
“I thought a lot about this before I did it. I knew I was crossing a line and had to shut down my emotions to survive… I have to just shut down and do it.”
“Sometimes I cannot smile… I hate the work I am doing.”