Laure Lee to Challenge Ireland's Anti-Sex Work Laws

Author
European Regional Correspondent

Laura Lee has won High Court permission to challenge a new law criminalising clients in Northern Ireland. She will also challenge Ireland's brothel keeping laws.

In 2015, Northern Ireland adopted the “Swedish Model”, which criminalises the clients of sex workers, despite the fact that “independent research by Northern Ireland’s Department of Justice showed that no locally based sex workers surveyed supported criminalising the purchase of sex, with 61 percent believing it would make them less safe and 85 per cent saying it would not reduce sex trafficking.”

Prior to the act coming into effect, sex work in Northern Ireland was regulated by similar laws to those in England and Wales, as it is elsewhere in the United Kingdom. At that time, sex work in Northern Ireland was not illegal, but many activities surrounding sex work were such as soliciting, procuring, living on the proceeds of prostitution (pimping), exploitation, under age prostitution and keeping a brothel.

Laura Lee has been a sex worker for over 20 years. She is a law graduate who is based in Edinburgh but travels to Belfast for work. She was granted leave to seek a judicial review of the legislation making it illegal to buy sex.

A judge ruled that she has established an arguable case that amendments to the Human Trafficking and Exploitation Act breach her human right to privacy and freedom from discrimination. Lee's legal team argued that the new law exposes sex workers to greater risk of violence.

They argued it will lead to sex workers to work alone in order to avoid criminalisation. They say that reduced opportunities to meet and screen clients creates a further danger.

NSWP strongly critisises the Swedish Model in its Advocacy Toolkit: The Real Impact of the Swedish Model on Sex Workers. In addition, Amnesty International revealed the harmfulness of it in its report from Norway.

Catriona, a spokesperson from the Irish sex workers' rights organisation SWAI said,

I am really thrilled that Laura Lee's case against Northern Ireland was granted leave by the judge. This means we're on the way to make the legal case that the criminalisation of clients is dangerous for sex workers, as it prevents them from screening clients and puts them in more danger. Laura Lee did not only get leave granted on those grounds, but also the criminalisation of the brothel keeping laws. The brothel keeping laws criminalise two or more workers working from the same premises. No other form of work requires workers to work alone, especially as working together creates a safer working environment. Sex workers are targeted repeatedly by police in Northern Ireland through this law.  Evidence shows that since the implementation of the laws that criminalise the clients of sex workers, more workers have been targeted by the brothel keeping laws than the sex buyer laws.

Laura Lee is doing tremendous work on behalf of sex workers everywhere to take on this case and hopefully the courts will see how damaging these laws are for sex workers' safety.

Laura has said she is prepared to go to the European Court of Human Rights to challenge the law.

In an interview with NSWP's Regional Correspondent Lee said: “I am delighted that the court considered the weight of evidence and legal merits of our case. Sex workers around the world know that decriminalisation is what we need, to allow us to work together in safety. My case will come back up for full hearing in the new year and I remain positive. This fight cannot be over until criminalisation in all its forms is eliminated.”

A date for a full hearing of the unprecedented legal action will be set later this year.