Posted online: Jun 24th, 2009

By Sinéad Flanagan
Editor

MEN are paying for sex during their lunch hour and after work, new information compiled by the Immigrant Council of Ireland and the Irish Human Rights Commission indicates.
The author of a new book- ‘The Natashas’ and ‘The Johns- Sex for Sale and Men Who Buy It’, Victor Malarek who gave a lecture in conjunction with the two groups yesterday, believes that demand for paid sex is “skyrocketing” here, as sex tourism, the internet and pornography “normalise” prostitution.
A snapshot of availability of prostitutes through the internet recently in County Kildare showed that 19 women were available on a given day that was randomly selected. This ranks Kildare the highest county in the country, that doesn’t have a city within it, to have such a number of prostitutes available. Ahead of it were Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford.
The change in prostitution from primarily Irish women selling sex on the streets, to predominantly foreign nationals selling it indoors, most of whom are sold into the business, has in some respects made it easier for punters to use the service without being noticed.
While advertising prostitution in Ireland is illegal, “the loophole is that a lot of the internet sites are hosted in the UK but advertise Irish women,” says Ruth Evans of the Immigrant Council. While most of these sites advertise escorts as opposed to prostitutes, Ruth says “there’s no doubt” that it is a prostitution service they are offering. Many “advertise specific sexual acts” which clarify that they are offering far more than a dinner and drinks service.
In the talk given by Mr Malarek, he claimed that without the buyer there would be no ‘vendor’. He is calling on the authorities to implement the Swedish model, which decriminalises the sale of sex but criminalises the buying of it. This way, men who engage prostitutes will be prosecuted for such an offence, hence making it much more difficult for the ‘industry’ to continue.
Mr Malarek added: “Chilling, over the past decade, demand for sex has gone off the charts- the reasons being extreme poverty, the internet” among a number of other reasons.