A sex trade survivor from Dublin is calling for a crackdown on escort agencies and says pimps are making millions of euros as they freely peddle prostitution online.
Brave Rachel Moran, who wrote a book about her seven years being sold on the streets of the capital, also blasted authorities for not implementing the Sexual Offences Act. Legislation which makes the purchase of sex illegal came into force in March last year β but there have been no prosecutions to date.
A report by survivor group SPACE International, of which she is a founding member, noted gardai do not seem to be targeting pimps or buyers of sex in known locations. I cannot think of another area of illegality in Ireland that is openly and publicly accommodated unchallenged. Ruhama β the frontline service for those affected by prostitution β last month published its annual report and singled out lack of enforcement as a priority issue.
The fact of having your body reduced to a commodity is violence. The Criminal Law Sexual Offences Act is due for review within the next 18 months, but Rachel says that exercise is pointless.
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