Key Findings and Policy Recommendations, published October 2024
Armstrong, L., Phillips, J., Ryan, B., Fraser, C., and Kelly, T. (2024). “In an ideal world, it would be fully decriminalised”: Stigma, discrimination, and sex work laws in Scotland, Aotearoa New Zealand, and the Republic of Ireland. Victoria University of Wellington. DOI:10.25455/wgtn.26778190
Key Findings
The conclusion of this research is that stigma is profoundly harmful, and is connected to the laws surrounding sex work, which shapes the status sex workers are afforded and has serious implications for physical, emotional, and occupational safety. While laws are not the only factor shaping stigma, they play an important role in setting the tone for how sex workers are seen in society. Stigma also serves as a barrier to the full decriminalisation of sex work. Mitigating against the harms of stigma should be a key
priority for policy makers.
The Republic of Ireland snapshot
Participants overwhelmingly felt that sex workers are subject to considerable judgement in Ireland, through a combination of contempt and condescension, which translated in their everyday experiences in a range of settings. Interviews indicated that this context has fostered isolation and stymies opportunities for community and connection between sex workers. Several participants expressed disdain for organisations that receive government funding to support sex workers, feeling that these organisations further entrench stigma and do very little to improve their material circumstances. Participants overwhelmingly felt that the laws in place harm them in multiple ways, from forcing them to make risky decisions, to creating even more pronounced housing insecurity in a housing crisis, to empowering the Guards to exert more control over them, to reducing income for the most marginalised workers, to increasing stigma. In place of the current laws, participants wanted full decriminalisation, action to challenge stigma and improve attitudes towards them, and policy changes to support people who are struggling economically in practical ways. They specifically wanted: increased unemployment, disability, and child benefits; funding to support education; funding addiction services; better support for refugees and asylum seekers; and affordable housing.
