The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (DRCC) is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) which for almost forty years has offered counselling, psychotherapy and a variety of related services to adults who have experienced rape, sexual assault and childhood sexual abuse. One of the enduring realities of Irish society is sexual violence. Its prevalence is a particularly challenging figure to determine. From the most comprehensive national longitudinal research, The Sexual Abuse and Violence in Ireland (SAVI) study,6 we know that four in ten (42%) Irish women reported experiencing some form of sexual violence in their lifetime. While annual statistics provide general trends for those who choose to disclose abuse to professional agencies, such as the DRCC, it provides limited insight into the total number of individuals who have been sexually abused in the general population and reveals even less about those involved in prostitution. Rape and sexual abuse, like prostitution, have been hidden crimes in our society for far too long.

There are those who suggest that prostitution is the world’s oldest profession and that women select it freely. The partners campaigning under the Turn Off the Red Light banner, contend that prostitution is a form of gender-based oppression. Like rape and sexual abuse, prostitution is inherently harmful and abusive. It violates the human dignity and integrity guaranteed to all under the UN Declaration on Human Rights 1948. Human rights define what kind of life is worthy of a human being, what kind of life is worth living. Intrinsic to prostitution are numerous violations of human rights: sexual harassment, economic servitude, educational deprivation, partner and family violence, racism, classism, vulnerability to frequent physical and sexual assault, and being subjected to bodily invasions that are equivalent to torture.7 These human rights violations describe much of what is told and heard every day in the therapy rooms and on the National 24-Hour Helpline, 1800 77 88 88, operated from the DRCC.

The belief that prostitution is a choice allows the punters, pimps and traffickers to obscure the abuse involved and to focus on the concept of right and entitlement for the abuser because a payment has been made. The assumption being made, that once he pays, she no longer matters. The fact that money is exchanged cannot disguise the fact that what occurs in prostitution is sexual violence. Continuing to focus on the criminalisation of women and not on the punters and pimps underlines the shame and isolation caused by sexual violence, thereby reinforcing a woman’s reliance on the abusive and criminal network of those who control her life. All too often that violence and coercion are the realm of the pimp so that the punter can hold on to the fantasy that the sex is consensual. All of which creates an illusion; the illusion that women want to be there; that they deserve to be treated this way; which results in, not only normalising but also perpetuating violence against women in general. 

The SAVI Report (2002) suggested that the general public needs to view prostitution as ‘violence against women and as a human rights issue’. It recommended public awareness and education aimed at increasing the understanding of the situation of women in prostitution. In 2015 the DRCC’s ‘AskConsent’ campaign set out to raise awareness on the issue of sexual consent. The aim of the campaign was to stimulate important discussion amongst Irish adults and encourage young people to think carefully about effective sexual communication. In educating young people how to communicate appropriately during sexual encounters, it will also play a preventative role by reducing the potential for non-consensual sexual activity to occur. And given the legal and societal uncertainties surrounding the concept of consent, initiatives like this are a vital tool in combating sexual violence. Accepting that prostitution is part of an exploitative sex industry, raises the question as to whether someone can freely consent to be exploited? Women in prostitution comply rather than consent to a punter’s demands. Rather than ask why, or if, women choose prostitution, attention needs to be focussed on why so many men choose to buy women.

The mission of the DRCC is to prevent and heal the trauma of rape and sexual abuse; it was one of our many reasons to get involved in the work of the TORL Campaign, to collaborate in combating the violence and exploitation associated with prostitution. The vast majority of those involved in prostitution are experiencing some form of coercion. Many of the women who are involved in Ireland’s sex industry, had no real choice –poverty and life circumstances, combined with deception and exploitation, are evident in many of their stories. Associated with the risk of selling their bodies repeatedly to strangers is the daily risk of physical and sexual violence. We need to decriminalise those exploited in prostitution, so that they are not punished for being abused. Rape and sexual assault are very difficult crimes to report and to get convictions because of the nature of the crimes. We know from our experience that victims of rape and sexual violence who are involved in the sex industry are less likely to report these crimes and get justice for themselves, hence the perpetrators will be less likely to be punished and may well continue to commit these heinous crimes with impunity.