Bless. I've been involved in sex work activism for longer than I can remember (and certainly longer than I've been a member here), and nowhere does my post say that people shouldn't post about relevant petitions and similar on SAAFE. Some reading and comprehension skills wouldn't go amiss.

What the post says is that there is no need to tell the world that you've signed it, since the petition will still be signed (which is the important bit), in a similar vein to the people who quote gigantic posts in their entirety just to put 'this' or '+1' at the bottom. It's just showboating; it contributes nothing whatsoever to the board and turns what should be discussion into lazy, pointless drivel.

I agree that there should have been a URL posted, and if I get a minute I'll find the petition again and post one .


Oh, and I'm not a moderator. I'm an administrator, which means that along with the other administrators the buck stops with me.

Why did I found out about it today omg we need to spread the word

What can be done to promote this to a wider audience? I have told my regular clients about it to sign and I have read that the predicted amount of signatures will only be around 8,500 which won’t be enough for it to pass. If this bill doesn’t pass, will it mean that it will become illegal to be an escort or will it be the buyer that gets in trouble? Even if we as sex workers wouldn’t get prosecuted, do you think we would see a decline in newbies wanting to punt or even old clients not wanting to take the risk?

It could make it difficult to work, often Nordic Model is accompanied by other laws making accommodation very difficult to obtain, also access to support, outreach could be difficult. And those who have additional occupations could be in a difficult position.

Eg can no longer clearly say they participate in a non-illegal activity.

Surely the emphasis in terms of police intervention would be on those trafficked coerced or pimped. I doubt in the real world the police will have the resources time and manpower to go following individual punters down the street.

Obviously police intervention should focus on traffickers etc, but it's already possible for this to happen under existing laws so there is no need to criminalise buying sex in general. The point in widening who can be prosecuted is to to be able to go after consensual sex work.

The police obviously don't follow around random guys just in case they pay for sex, they target sex workers instead. This is why so many sex workers have been prosecuted in Ireland since the law changed, around 60 I think, while only 1 or 2 punters have been fined.

Iv discussed this with a few people now and they have all said it will no way pass in parliament. Does anyone agree or do you think this could change how we work forever if it passes?

Iv discussed this with a few people now and they have all said it will no way pass in parliament. Does anyone agree or do you think this could change how we work forever if it passes?

When you consider the evidence of what has happened when a sex buyers law has been passed in other countries, not to mention the fact that it's already been passed in this country in Northern Ireland and hasn't worked, then it doesn't seem likely.

But this legislation isn't based on evidence, it's based on ideology, and it has still become law in a few countries who have ignored evidence to pass it, including part of the UK. With that in mind added to the fact that this government clearly can't be trusted to wipe its own arse I don't think we can afford to be complacent.