An open discussion on prostitution and trafficking will be hosted by Cork Feminista this week as Justice Minister Alan Shatter concludes his investigation into the Swedish solution to soliciting sex – prosecuting the buyers. Tom McCarthy speaks to co-organiser Jennifer DeWan, and blogger and feminist activist Wendy Lyon, one of the keynote speakers.

Record turnout is expected this week at Cork Feminista, given the intense media focus on prostitution and trafficking recently. The event promises to probe the different paths Irish legislation can pursue, and Jennifer DeWan is adamant that no one agenda will dominate the night. “We're hoping to be able to touch on a lot of different issues, and then leave it open for people to really explore it."

The debate may also become heated however, with advocates of both Turn Off the Red Light campaign, which favours criminalising the purchase of sex, and Turn Off the Blue Light campaign, a sex-worker led organisation which opposes this view, expected to be present. DeWan feels an honest exchange is the only way forward. "With their new campaigns, they tend to be at each other's throats. They're not really trying to communicate with each other."

Public interest has been further fuelled by comments from Senator Mary White at a recent Seanad gathering. “There is a case for saying that women are perhaps being protected from rape because in some countries, prostitution is legalised.” White has called for a national debate. This is a viewpoint DeWan both agrees with and is troubled by. "To me I do think she is right in that we need to be discussing this issue. We can't just assume a method that may work in another context is necessarily going to work here. The idea of prostitution protecting people from rape I don't agree with though.” 

Prostitution and trafficking are two related issues that continue to remain embedded in the underbelly of our society,  in part thanks to technology and the explosion of escort websites. Such sites allow the overwhelmingly male clients a far safer “transaction”  than ever before, with the Irish Immigrant Council estimating at least 1,000 women are engaged in indoor prostitution at any one time. The punters can even rate their experience later online. It is therefore ironic that many lay people are unaware that buying or selling sex is not actually an offence in Ireland, provided it takes place between consenting adults.

Irish law does at least have teeth when it comes to human trafficking or soliciting for sex in public. It is arguably lax however in contrast to other countries, most notably Sweden. The Nordic nation has enjoyed great success, statistically at least, in reducing the numbers engaging in prostitution, though it is often less clear as to what happens to prostitutes once they lose their livelihoods.

Wendy Lyon remains unconvinced. "There's been a lot of discussion about the Swedish Model, but  really only from the side that supports it. The other side would include some sex workers, and their voices haven't been heard in this debate. It is a right of everybody to participate in decisions that affect their lives. When the Department of Justice went to Sweden last year, they didn't meet with any sex workers, many of whom oppose the law. They only met with supporters. We don't want the same thing to happen here."

Lyon, who recently completed an LLM in International Human Rights Law, says New Zealand may offer the best way to protect sex workers' health and their right to safety. "It treats sex workers as workers and brings them within occupational health and safety legislation. The research shows positive outcomes for sex workers and most importantly it shows that they themselves feel greater protection under the law, which is quite the opposite to what has been found in Sweden, where they feel the law makes things more dangerous for them."

The deluge of conflicting viewpoints and comparisons to foreign legislation is likely to leave the public confused, something DeWan can identify with. "Personally, it almost seems like the more information that comes out for criminalisation and against criminalisation, the more confused I am about what are the best ways to ensure sex workers have rights and are safe, but also that we don't necessarily continue to live in an environment where its OK to purchase not just women, but people for sex.”

Both DeWan and Lyon are in agreement when it comes to the need for public dialogue, though Lyon urges caution. "There's been a presentation as if the only options were the Swedish option - full criminalisation - or legalisation along the lines of Germany or the Netherlands. The New Zealand Model really hasn't been looked at." As the legal eagles in the Department of Justice mull over the next legislative step and dwindling Garda resources, Thursday's discussion promises to add the voices that have been sorely lacking.