DORAS Luimní are concerned that women frequently bear the brunt of current Irish prostitution laws and that their sentences invariably outweigh those imposed on the pimps and traffickers who profit from prostitution.
Highlighting the inadequacy of current Irish prostitution laws, Doras Luimní urged Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald to include the decriminalisation of women in prostitution in the new Sexual Offences Bill .
In addition, the Limerick charity working with immigrants and asylum seekers, maintain that designated funding for exiting support services, coherent and joined up inter-agency partnerships, peer support, and awareness raising are all necessary elements of a national prostitution strategy.
Doras Luimní is also urging Minister Fitzgerald to adopt sex buyer laws. The non-profit group believe that without the demand for prostitution, the market will shrink.
“The current focus on the criminalisation of street-based prostitution is outdated and unjust – it needs to change,” said a spokesperson for the O’Connell Street-based charity.
In 2013 Limerick had the third highest rate of advertisements for prostitution after Dublin and Cork. During that 12-month period Doras Luimní completed 82 sessions as part of their street outreach project and over 90 per cent of its contacts were with migrant women, mostly from EU member states.
They revealed that various levels of vulnerability were alluded to or witnessed by outreach workers including poor or no grasp of the English language; controlled by male or female minders; loss of identification cards; visible signs of abuse or trauma; inability to engage with mainstream services; or being accompanied to service providers by a person who interprets on their behalf.
