Researchers carried out 50 interviews with 25 sex workers between October 2020 and January of last year. Photograph: PAThe author of a government-funded report on sex work in Ireland said she was shocked when she heard accounts of how some gardaí treat sex workers.
Researchers, including “peer researchers” who are sex workers themselves, carried out 50 interviews with 25 sex workers between October 2020 and January last year. The report, I Must Be Some Person: Accounts from Street Sex Workers in Ireland, states the 2017 legislation that criminalised the purchase of sex had “drastically marginalised” an already vulnerable group.
Gardaí referred to new sex workers as “fresh meat”, made inappropriate jokes about oral sex or asked “what would you do for a tenner?”, the report said. “All the academics were shocked [by the findings],” but the sex workers “did not even bat an eye” as they were used to such behaviour, Dr Minescu said.She said sex workers “100 per cent” do not feel protected by gardaí. For protection, sex workers will take down the registration of cars they or their colleagues are getting into. Dr Minescu said they felt this was something gardaí should be doing.
Garda headquarters has said it will study the findings of the report. A spokesman said all gardaí must act ethically, professionally and appropriately and must treat people with dignity and respect Allegations of illegal or unethical activity would be investigated, he said, and the force has a clear policy on gardaí using their position for sexual gain.
what academics ?
Police officers are a plight on marginalised people's lives. They cause all that harm on tax-payer money. It's disgusting.
Before hastily brushing it under the carpet
Based on interviews with just 25 people- how can this be seen as representative?
I was myself gardainfo