Those who pay for sex are the people who should be criminalised, he argued, not those forced to work in the sex trade. Once this happened here, he believed, the organised gangs would move out of prostitution as it would not be profitable any more. This had been the case in Sweden, he argued. Without a special unit, the act is meaningless, he argued. Speaking to the Limerick Leader, Cllr Lynch referred to a wave of prostitution between and And it had had a negative impact on businesses in streets where it was taking place each night.
He cited Catherine St in particular. However, he believed the problem, which he said involved hundreds of cases, had now gone underground. Anti-social behaviour orders had been issued, he said. It is the sex workers who are the victims, Cllr Lynch believed. Cllr Lynch acknowledged the work done by Doras Luimni and others in assisting the victims of prostitution and trafficking but said they needed resources to provide the structure of counselling and services these victims.
This would be even more the case, he believed, once the Bill became law. Prostitution was around as long as human beings, he said. But he believed both the buyer and seller of sex should be criminalised. We must also ensure there are adequate support services for prostitutes, and assistance to help them get out of the sex industry if they wish.
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