Prostitutes charged exorbitant rent

UNSCRUPULOUS landlords in Clare are charging prostitutes exorbitant rent for apartments in order for them to turn a blind eye to their activities, gardaí have confirmed.
Up to 10 prostitutes are operating from apartments and hotels in Clare in a given week, The Clare Champion can reveal, prompting calls for a change in legislation to criminalise the users to decrease demand.
The Clare Champion found eight prostitutes advertising their services in Clare in one day on a single website. When these women were contacted, it was found that three were available at the time they were contacted, two were offering services from an apartment, while the third was offering services from a hotel. Prices per half-hour varied from €70 to €100.
Gardaí in the county have acknowledged that between six and eight women are offering sex for sale in Clare, predominantly from apartments and that “unscrupulous landlords” are charging exorbitant amounts of money in rent for them “to turn a blind eye”.
Gardaí accept it is an “off-street” industry in the county and they continue to monitor known premises utilised by travelling prostitutes, as well as monitor known websites that advertise the services in Clare.
According to Rape Crisis Mid-West, prostitutes who are contacted through the internet and hotline numbers are much more vulnerable to sexual assault and rape than those who work in the more traditional outdoor sex trade but they are reluctant to seek help.
A spokesperson for the group said it is “only in exceptional circumstances” from their experience “that a woman has willingly entered the sex industry”.
There is, according to the rape support group, a general reluctance on the part of prostitutes to engage with services generally, both in Clare and beyond.
The level of prostitution operating in Clare is of serious concern to Senator Martin Conway, who sits on the Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality, which is currently reviewing prostitution legislation. The committee heard moving evidence from women; former prostitutes, who had been subjected to gang rape and other abuse.
Senator Conway was “horrified” to learn of the number women who are offering prostitution services in the county and firmly believes a change in legislation is necessary to criminalise the buyers, with a view to reducing the demand.
Having looked into the situation, Senator Conway said, “You could get anything from, at a quiet time, four prostitutes advertising their services in Clare, up to 10, depending on whether it’s busy or quiet.
“The ones in apartments are travelling prostitutes, going from one area to another. They could start in Dublin for three or four days, then Carlow, then to Clare. All transportation is arranged by the pimp, who gets a cut out of it. However, I don’t know if the ones using hotels are travelling prostitutes.”
Up to 65 organisations representing every part of Irish life are involved in the Turn Off the Red Light campaign, which for the past four years has been seeking a change in the law to end exploitation, abuse and organised crime by targeting the demand for prostitution.
Of those 65, the Clare Women’s Network, Rape Crisis Mid-West and Doras Luimní are local organisations involved, along with national organisations such as the ICA, Ruhama and Macra na Feirme.
Many of these organisations have been lobbying the Justice Committee to recommend criminalising the purchase of sex. In addition, the committee has been hearing from people in the medical profession, feminist rights groups, prostitutes themselves and former sex workers.
Senator Conway said he was at these hearings and has heard from the medical people and various interest groups.
“The people that made the most impression on me are the people who are channelling their stories through the Turn Off The Red Light campaign. We’ve met women, who were prostitutes but who are not anymore and heard their harrowing stories of being gang raped. These were private hearings about being totally abused; it was awful stuff.
“Then they also heard from women who are currently prostitutes. I really think that if the Government do nothing else but criminalise the people who use prostitution, they will be doing vulnerable women a great favour,” he said.
The Justice Committee are due to make their recommendation in the next three to four weeks, having heard submissions from the various interest groups over the past four months.
Senator Conway said what he would like to see in this recommendation is the purchase of sex being criminalised and, in addition, he said, “I would like to see far more garda resources put into tracking and dealing with the pimps and criminals. That doesn’t need legislation, it just needs a willingness. I do know the gardaí are very good and do their best but there needs to be a policy position taken to try to deal with this.
“They have various operations in place already but there needs to be a new operation that’s totally dedicated to tracking the movement of these girls around the country and to try to bring the perpetrators to jail,” he concluded.