Sir, – The letter by Jimmy Carter to the Taoiseach and members of the Oireachtas urging the Government to criminalise the purchaser of sexual services but not the seller is an almost unprecedented intervention in the internal affairs of another country ("Former US president urges Ireland to criminalise the buyers of sex", September 2nd). The letter says that Ireland should take a lead which would inspire others to follow.
It is highly significant that the letter was written at the prompting of the Immigrant Council of Ireland, which has been relentless in driving the campaign. Mr Carter is known for his book on violence against women globally but hardly for his knowledge of prostitution in Ireland.
The intervention of Mr Carter, though well motivated, is ill judged. Ireland should be allowed to make decisions on its own laws without outside interference, which is all too common today.
The argument has been repeatedly made that trafficking for sexual purposes and prostitution are two separate things. This country has stringent laws on trafficking and the authorities have reported a decline in numbers of trafficked persons for all purposes from 2010 through to 2012. The further claim that the so-called Swedish model would “prove to be an extremely effective deterrent” is not supported by the evidence.
Indeed two Nordic countries have rejected the Swedish model after extensive investigation: Denmark in November 2012 and Finland earlier this year. According to the Danish report, “a criminalisation of the purchase of sexual services will most likely not have any actual effects on the reduction of prostitution in Denmark because a ban on the purchase of such services will be extremely difficult for the police to enforce”.
It says further “that the Swedish model may even have negative consequences for the women providing the services due to potential poorer financial conditions for these women and increased stigmatisation”.
Moreover the PSNI in a report to the Stormont Assembly questioned its value also: “Whilst there are many advocates of the Swedish model in the criminalisation of the purchase of sexual services, there is conflicting information available. Recent PSNI experience and investigations in Sweden have highlighted concern that significant levels of trafficking and prostitution still exist despite the introduction of legislation to criminalise the purchase of sexual services”.
It states baldly, “The majority of prostitution within Northern Ireland is through independent prostitutes who are not trafficked or controlled by organised crime groups”.
The Oireachtas Justice Committee that produced the 2013 report can hardly be said to have been impartial – seven of its 15 members had declared in favour of the Swedish model at the outset of the hearings.
Ultimately this is a debate about freedom – the freedom of consenting adults to make decisions about their private lives, however unpalatable these decisions may be to ideologically driven groups such as the Immigrant Council of Ireland. – Yours, etc,
DAVID WALSH,
Rockfield,
Maynooth,
Co Kildare.