The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015 had a second reading before the Oireachtas on 28 January this year. Alongside more stringent measures against trafficking and underage participation in prostitution and pornography, the bill proposes that the purchase of a sexual service should be a crime, with a maximum penalty of one year in prison. Frank Armstrong, barrister and lecturer in property law at the Anglo-American University in Prague, argues that this measure is not appropriate in the present context of income inequality and poverty.

It seems very likely that the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015 will enjoy overwhelming support in the Oireachtas. Both it – and another private members’ bill supported by Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil – are based on the so-called Swedish model. This criminalises the purchase, but not the sale of, sexual services -- treating the sex worker as the victim of an inherently violent act. This legislative course has been followed in a number of other jurisdictions, including Norway and, recently, Northern Ireland.

Since the legislation was introduced, the number of sex workers in Sweden has declined significantly. However, opponents (particularly sex worker advocacy groups) say that the law has increased the stigmatisation of sex workers, and has driven the industry underground, with occasionally grave repercussions.

You can read Armstrong’s full article in the April 2016 Law Society Gazette.