Being Bonniest Baby at Butlins Led me to being a Sex Worker!

 

Ahh who the hell am I kidding?  And to be fair it was a ‘Mother and Baby’ competition, so my Mum was pretty hot back then too!

I was about three years old and in all honesty, I don’t remember a second of it, but we had a little silver cup for winning and I had that throughout my childhood and remember well, being proud of it and totally forgetting the fact that my Mum was in the competition too, as I was only interested in the fact that I won it!

 

Why, oh why, oh why, do adults have to make such a big deal and make something sexual out of something innocent?  Children like to dress up, they like pretty things that glitter and they like to pretend to be like their parents, so be prepared for the day your find your 5 year old is trying to walk in your heels, or your 3 year old son is ruining your best eye shadow, as they apply it all over their face.  Yes I found my son doing this!  I once found my panty wings stuck to his bedroom window too!  Should I have worried about that?

 

As far as I am concerned (as a Mother) if the child is enjoying the attention and likes to dress up and it is building their confidence and social skills, then what damage exactly does it do?  Here you have at least one parent, who is lavishing attention on their child and not sitting it in front of the TV, while they do whatever it is they feel is more important than their child.  These are the years of bonding and believe me if the child is happy, the bond they have with the parent/s that attend with them will be very strong.

Bless my Mother for yearly entering me into the pears soap competition and getting no where and bless my Sister for coming along and finally making her happy and making it to Carnival Queen.  I was such a Tom boy, she was never going to achieve her goals with me, but did I feel pushed, did I feel unable to say no or be myself?  Not for a minute.

People need to stop interfering; these things have been going on for decades and do no harm.   Why make a fuss now?  Where is the research that shows damaged children who have previously entered these pageants?

Oh gosh, the little tots are walking up and down blowing kisses and being told to smile by their parents!!! How awful?

 

It actually makes me quite cross.  It’s not just about beauty, otherwise why would they be asked to do an act, dance or sing etc.

You know what they will be doing next?  They will be stopping children from going to dance school, as I can assure you they often wear skimpy costumes and wear make-up, so where is the difference?

So… of course if the child doesn’t enjoy it and is obviously distressed, they should not be forced to participate, but then how many children have been forced to go to Brownies, Sunday school, swimming lessons etc?  Surely dressing up and role play is part of being a child and childhood?  It’s just another strand of how some children have fun!

If we would like to talk about child abuse, perhaps we should highlight the fact that some children get beaten, because they find it difficult to learn the kur’an!  Children that do a full days learning at school and then after school have to go to the Mosque and spend hours reciting and learning.

Or maybe we should talk about the children that come home from school hungry to no food and are left in front of the TV for hours on end, or let out to play with no knowledge of where they are or what they are doing until it gets dark?  You think these children don't exist?  Children that are either forced into situations they can not cope with or abandoned to look after themselves, because the parents can't be bothered?  Is it really so much better be ignored?

Does anyone try and help these children and threaten their parents with 2 years in prison for abusing their children?  Would they dare interfere?

We live in a sick world that has somehow turned on its head.  Things that are natural and innocent have been warped into sexual and ugly scenes, people that are enjoying consensual experiences are being victimized and stigmatized, for making choices other people don’t approve of.  Where is the equality in being told what you can and can’t do?  Where is the democracy, where anyone who does not fit in the box is said to not know their own mind?

Of course we need to care for the vulnerable and make sure that they are treated fairly and not abused, but please, can we stop looking for problems and victims where they do not exist?  Can we not treat people with a little more respect and accept that they may just not want to fit their round shape into your square box?  As long as the children are happy, as long as the consenting adult is happy, leave them to get on with their lives and get on with yours!



TORL - Blatant Manipulation and Lies by Government Funded Organisation

Yesterday while I was parusing twitter (as you do), I came across this delightful video created by TORL, that is packed full of lies and propaganda from the first second to the last.  I thought it would only be right to put a few details right, so that anyone who has watched this can identify with the truth and not the twisted manipulation of a group of people that just don't like SEX!

Here is the video...

TORL Campaign 

Unfortunately I have not been able to add the video straight to the blog, but if you click on the link it will take you to it and you can still watch it.

It starts with...

800 WOMEN FOR SALE

This is a blatant lie, as NO woman is for sale.  Even the trafficked women are not for sale, as they stay with the pimp and are not going off to be used by the client for the rest of their lives.  

They have got this number by looking at how many adverts were up in Ireland on the day it was created and instead of differentiating and looking to see who is Independent, who is Agency and who is trafficked, they have decided that ALL these women are for sale.  This is NOT TRUE!  As one of the women currently advertising in Ireland, I can categorically say that I am not for sale and never will be.  I am a self employed businesswoman and I sell a unique skill base and my time.  Once the booking time is over, I am then free to take another booking or do something of my own free wish.  I have no one telling me what to do, or how to live my life.  I am 100% independent.

The above statement is 100% lie! 

19 Children found in Irish 'commercial sex' in 2012

I am still waiting on the actual figures, but the figures for 2011 are very different, standing at 6 (findings can be found at Blue Blindfold) .  The figures for 2012 have not yet been released, so this number is completely fabricated.  It would seem that their sources are non existent and literally plucked out of the sky.  After going back and researching from 2009 to 2011 (which are the only years with statistics available), there is nothing like the figure 19 to be found in any year.

At the conclusion of 2009 there were found to be 6 cases of sexual exploitation, including females, males and minors.  This is a fact!

In 2010 there were 15 alleged victims of sexual exploitation were minors.  Minors means anyone under the age of 18 and in this case the age range of alleged victims in 2010 as a whole, is between 17 and 48.  There is no evidence to support children younger than 17.

2 minors were referred to by the NGOs who got their information from Ruhama.  Ruhama have never reported findings of any male being exploited sexually.  However, the Garda have evidence of male's being exploited in each year group.

21 arrests were made under the criminal law of child trafficking and pornography, 1998.  Of which there have been 4 convictions and one awaiting verdict.

In 2011 - There were 8 alleged reports to the Garda of sexual exploitation.  5 female and 2 male.  There was one additional report of a minor in 2011 by Ruhama and in total to NGOs.

In total with regards to adults and minors, there are 20 ongoing investigations and one conviction for trafficking.  

There is no evidence of age range in this report, but as 2009 and 2010 state 17 as the lowest age range, one would assume it to be the same in 2011.

Please pay special attention to the word 'alleged', this means that at the time of press, these minors may or may not be victims and are under investigation.  There is no evidence to 100% guarantee that they are trafficked and working against their will when the word alleged is used before the statistic.

The most exciting information that I found during this research is that convictions are going through and arrests are being made in Ireland.  However, I believe this would be severely hampered if we were to adopt the Swedish Model of making the client a criminal. 

 As you can see in the table below, Sweden stopped getting convictions when they changed their legislation.  They are no longer able to gather the evidence they need to make a conviction, so the pimps and traffickers in Sweden are now untouchable!!!

This is a table of the Swedish reports and convictions on trafficking for sexual exploitation.

Up to 250 million: The amount pimps and traffickers

rob from Ireland each year.

This statement in times of recession is there to get your blood boiling.  It is another fabricated statement and there is no source or evidence to support it.  I believe they took this information from an article written in the Daily Mail recently, where ICI state that there were 29 children trafficked into Ireland over the last 3 years. However, this is just the opinion of a supporter and has no fact based source what so ever, so how can anything else written be supported?

Also if 29 is the official number over 3 years, that is an average of 10 per year, so where did 19 come from?  That is almost 100% more than previous years!  Where is their evidence for this claim?

With regards to the money.  Trafficked and pimped Sex Workers are very firmly in the minority.  If they have worked this amount out based on 800 workers, then a large portion of that income is taken up by Independent Escorts, who look after their own finances and much of that money is ploughed back into the Country in the form of accommodation, transport and food.  None of these things are free and they are basic needs for anyone living in Ireland.

Much of this money is not robbed at all, but legitimately made, through work that is legal in this country and will remain to be legal, even if the Swedish Model comes into place.  The money being earned off the back of coerced and trafficked people will not reduce, as there would be less convictions and the Garda would have less ability to charge those arrested, as they won't have any evidence or the support of the clients, who could also be blackmailed.

 

Letter written by  Paul McCabe, a TORL supporter.

How Old Are The Children Being Found?

We hear the word 'children' or 'minor' and we automatically think of a young defenseless child who is no way physically or mentally mature enough to be in such an adult environment, let alone being forced into a sexual act.  Any parent is going to be disgusted and outraged to be told that 19 children have been mistreated in this way.  However, the statistics show that the minimum age of the minors allegedly trafficked and coerced into prostitution is 17.  Yes still young, but no where near the average age banded about that most Prostitutes start working at 13.

To further dispell this myth that Sex Workers tend to start at 13 years of age, there has been a table compiled in America where statistics have been collated since 1981 to 2011 that shows this is just not possible.  This shows very clearly that most females and males enter Sex Work at 18 years of age.  It also shows a fairly high proportion of male Sex Workers, who are not represented at all in the Swedish Model and would remain to be vulnerable and unsupported.  I found it very telling that Ruhama had not assisted one male out of  Sex Work in the last three years.  This seems very sexist to me and unwarranted, if the end result is compassion to people exploited within the sex industry.

Here is the table and graph taken in America between 1981 and 2011

Using the statistics provided by Blue Blindfold in Ireland, it would be fair to assess that there is no recorded documentation of minors under the age of 17 working in Ireland.  I believe this again shows that the video clip is there to stir up emotions and concerns for children that do not exist within the Sex Industry, or are so very limited in number, they have not been found.  If the Swedish Model is introduced.  They will NEVER be found!

800 Written Submissions, 6 Months of Hearings, UNANIMOUS Recommendations

This statement is also fabricated or at the very least omitting facts.  Out of the total of submissions written I was told personally by Pat Nearly that 44 were written by Sex Workers and against the Swedish Model.  During the hearings only 2 active sex workers were invited to be heard.  Many other active sex workers had wanted to attend, but we were not allowed to and therefore we were not represented fairly or in proportion to those that were for the Swedish Model.

There is not unanimous recommendations, as 44 submissions were apposed.  This just shows again how the Sex Worker is being ignored and discounted.  Our opinion does not matter and even when we are represented, we are misquoted.  This is only possible due to the fact that the hearing where two Sex Workers were invited, was not recorded and the findings were not published.

The above statement again is a blatant lie and fabrication.

 Visual Effect

Even the visual effects are cliche and damning.  They show a man with dollars in his hands.  Dollars?  Since when has Ireland used American currency?  Could they not at least find someone with a wad of euros?

Red light shining.  This is NOT Amsterdam!  Ireland is predominantly made up of Sex Workers who work in private premises and they do not shine red lights from their windows, but work in a variety of locations from hotels to high class pent house apartments.  The majority of Sex Workers do not work in seedy environments, with drug and alcohol induced surroundings.  Most are sober and since we now live in an anti smoking society, many now don't even smoke, due to clients not wanting the smell and taste of smoke.

These cliches just shout the fact that TORL really don't know what they are dealing with.  They have not moved forward in attitude or expectation and this is no longer what Sex Work is about.

We are Doctors, Nurses, Trade Unions, Employers, Survivors, Farmers.... 68 Irish Organisations Say its Time

I know of someone who is a member of one of these 68 organisations and he is ashamed to admit it, but says that at no point where the members asked of their approval or opinion and he for one is not happy that the money  he contributes to that organisation is supporting this motion without the members consent.  This makes you wonder exactly how many of these 68 organisations took the decision to support to a vote and actually included its members in the decision.  Without the members vote, how valid is the support of the organisation?

TDs Have Spent 14 Months Debating The Laws

Tell them to Act

They have spent 14 months debating, because they are not unanimous and they are not privy to all the facts yet.  They need to be sure that the Swedish Model can improve the situation and all the statistics available suggest this is not the case.  When you compare the convictions in Ireland to the convictions in Sweden, Ireland is out of reach ahead of Sweden.  Ireland is actively supported and able to tackle trafficking and pimping and are not only making arrests, but convictions!  Why mend something that is not broken?  In fact more to the point, why break something that is not broken?

Organised Crime Gangs are Running

Irish Prostitution

As an active Sex Worker in Ireland I can hand on heart say I have never encountered any crime gangs and they are not involved in my work at all.  I know many Independent Escorts and not one of us, have any dealings with crime gangs and we all work for ourselves.

This is a fact and as such, this statement is another LIE.

Give 1 minute

Tell your TDs to Act on the Unanimous

Justice Committee Report on Sex

Buyer Laws

I urge you as an active Sex Worker in Ireland NOT to tell your TDs to act on the Justice Committe Report on Sex buyer laws, but to spend some time looking at the statistics I have offered on this blog and think about the real consequences of making the buyer a criminal.  Please consider that in Ireland today we have real help for Trafficked victims, as it is already a crime to pimp or traffic minors or adults and there are real convictions where these abhorant people are going to prison.  The same can not be said of those in Sweden, who are just going further underground and getting a firmer hold on the industry.  Sex between two consenting adults is not a crime!

2011

Please don't let these people get away with what they are doing.  If you really care about young women, immigrants, trafficked and pimped women you will write to your TDs and appose this motion, because with it, these tables will be empty and a thing of the past.

Ireland needs you to believe in it's Garda, believe in Ireland!