I started sex work because I needed money,
like everybody else in the world.
[Kate is an artist, activist, sex worker, and director of Sex Workers Alliance Ireland.]
I would have to say that
being part of the sex worker rights movement
and the struggle to fight for our rights
is far more stressful than sex work in general.
[The Swedish Model, also known by the misnomer Nordic Model, criminalizes the buyers of sex
in an attempt to end demand for sex work.
In reality, its unintended consequences often do more harm than good.]
We’re forced to act like criminals, even if we’re technically not.
So in Ireland, we have the Swedish Model.
The way that I work is technically legal.
I sell sex indoors and alone,
which is the only way that it’s legal,
but because my clients are criminalized,
because working with a friend would be illegal,
because hiring anybody for security or to manage my bookings,
because any of these things are illegal, even advertising is illegal,
we’re forced to interact with society
and with everybody around us like we ourselves are criminals
[Any form of criminalization makes it harder for sex workers to negotiate terms with clients,
or work together with other sex workers for safety,
and carry condoms without fear that they will be used as evidence of prostitution.]
I see a lot more abuse these days.
I don’t see any positive change.
I feel that generally the Nordic Model brought fear to sex workers, and entitlement to men.
Because even though they say the clients will be punished,
they never are.
We are the only ones who suffer the real consequences.
[Migrant sex workers like Belle, who is originally from Brazil,
are particularly susceptible to violence and exploitation
because their legal status puts them at risk of deportation.]
Abusive men are everywhere,
but they target us because we are easy to target,
because we don’t have protection,
because we can’t go up to the police, and they know that.
They know that if they do anything to us, if they actually steal from us,
and if they want to rape us or anything,
if you’re a migrant, you’re better off just taking that than going to the police.
[The Swedish Model makes it difficult for sex workers to report abuse—especially at the hands of police—
because they are vulnerable to arrest and further mistreatment.]
Last year, a man called me, and I was feeling really upset, but I didn’t have a choice.
That was the only call I had for the week.
So he came, and in fact he just came to rob my money,
and because I didn’t have any money,
he actually beat me and raped me.
That was the first time I’ve had this kind of problem since I’ve been working,
and that is because of the law.
So, this law is really putting us at risk.
And I see so often now colleagues who speak about this kind of problem.
We never had that before. Never.
And now, we’re just trying to survive.
At the Sex Workers’ Alliance Ireland, we’re fighting for full decriminalization.
We’re fighting against stigma.
We’re fighting for people to acknowledge
that we are workers who deserve rights, like any other worker.
Particularly, because our work is precarious.
Particularly, because the people often that end up in sex work
are already on the margins.
I want to see this community—these people—winning for once,
and see sex work completely decriminalized,
and see that we have the support of the law for once, and the support of the police.
Sex workers are people.
And we have full lives.
And we have children that we are feeding,
And we have schools that we’re putting ourselves through.
We have rent that we are paying.
People need to listen to sex workers and take directions from us about our lives.