Länderberichte IRLAND:

[Aoife]

Hier die Rundmail von Turn Off The Blue Light bezüglich der Sperrung dieser SW-Rechte-Organisation durch Google AdWords aufgrund angeblich "unanständiger" Inhalte (vielen Dank @Friederike für den Hinweis, dass das auch etwas für's Forum sein könnte):

Turn Off the Blue Light (TOBL) is a small sex worker led association campaigning for the health, safety, human, civil and labour rights of Irish sex workers.

Unlike the main organisation in Ireland calling for further criminalisation of the sex industry, we don’t enjoy generous government funding that enables us to advertise widely, so we looked to Google AdWords as a form of advertising we could use.

Our Google AdWords advert read ‘Turn Off The Blue Light, Sex workers in Ireland need human rights, not legal wrongs’ and linked to our website, turnoffthebluelight.ie. It ran for several weeks, but was abruptly stopped by Google on May 24th.

Google emailed us stating that our advert did not comply with their terms of service and advertising policies, and as a result our account had been suspended and we were prohibited from possessing or creating any other accounts now or in the future. A link was provided to a help page explaining that the reasons for such suspensions are egregious violations. (We looked up ‘egregious’ in a dictionary, as it is not a commonly used word. It means outstandingly bad, shocking, offensive.)

We wrote to Google, asking them why they had taken this action. Google replied stating “The reason your AdWords account has been suspended is because your landing page turnoffthebluelight.ie violates our policies on Unacceptable Business Practices – Adult sexual services. Google AdWords doesn’t permit advertisements for websites that promote escort services or related content where intimacy is implied – for example, “erotic massages”, “tantra/tantric massages” and “companionship services.”

We would like to make clear that TOBL is not offering or promoting any adult sexual services. Nowhere on our website do we encourage anyone to become a sex worker or avail of the services of sex workers. We do not advertise contact details for sex workers or link to any websites that do. We are a sex worker led association campaigning for the rights of sex workers. Our website contains information about us, about sex work in Ireland, our views on relevant issues and news.

We are appealing Google’s decision to not allow TOBL to advertise. Google is a company and as such it has the right to decide which adverts it will allow and which adverts it will not allow, but we believe it is wrong of Google to prevent TOBL from advertising. We note that the religious group Ruhama, the main anti-prostitution organisation in Ireland, is being allowed advertise on Google AdWords, so this is not a case where no organisation with views on sex work is being allowed advertise.

Currently in Ireland a debate is going on about bringing in new laws relating to sex work, but sadly sex workers have been excluded from this debate thus far. Whatever your views are on sex work are, not allowing sex workers to speak is discrimination.

Google’s Dublin office is not just its Irish Headquarters, it’s Google’s Europe, Middle East and Africa Headquarters. Google promotes itself as a company committed to the ideals of free speech. Whatever your views on sex work, you cannot give free speech rights to one group but not another, that’s not free speech at all.

Sex workers coming together and speaking up about sex work is not outstandingly bad, shocking and offensive. Sex workers should be included in debates about sex work, not excluded. Please help us by spreading the word about this injustice and hopefully Google will take notice and allow TOBL to use AdWords.

[Aoife]

Und hier einmal eine trotz unangenehmen Hintergrund erfreuliche Nachricht:

Ein Mann, der eine Prostituierte überfallen und ausgeraubt hat (und sich dabei zu allem Überfluß auch noch als IRA-Mann ausgegeben hat) wurde in Belfast zu 6 Jahren Gefängnis verurteilt, wobei der Richter begründete, dass er den Überfall auf eine besonders vulnerable Dame als erschwerend bewertet.

Und: Der Mann konnte dingfest gemacht werden, weil die überfallene Kollegin seine Handynummer zur Warnung weitergegeben hat, so dass sein nächstes geplantes Opfer die Polizei hinzuziehen konnte.


'IRA' man jailed after robbing prostitute

A man who robbed a prostitute after putting a gun to her throat and telling her he was from the IRA has been jailed for six years.

Jailing 23-year-old Jonathan Robert McCloy at Belfast Crown Court, Judge Tom Burgess told him his victim was a "vulnerable lady" who would have no idea the gun he pointed at her was in actual fact a fake.

"She was in a position where it was very difficult for her to defend herself," said the judge adding that in addition to punishing McCloy "the sentence has to include a substantial element of deterrence... for others who would be minded to carry out such robberies."

Earlier he heard that police arrested McCloy from Magerlone Road, Drumaness, Ballynahinch on 20 February last year as he was about to enter the apartment block of another lady.

Prosecuting lawyer Doug Edmondson told the court she advertised her services in a newspaper and had been warned by her friend about McCloy's mobile number when she was robbed two days previously.

He said that on 18 February, McCloy first rang the woman at around 2pm, asking if she was "working" and could he see her immediately.

She told him she was busy but he rang back at around 10pm and after taking what Mr Edmondson described as "preliminary precautions," showed him into her apartment.

"When inside her showed her a handgun in the waistband of his trousers and said 'this is a robbery, give me your money and you won't get hurt'," said the lawyer.

The woman handed him around £300 but he then told her: "I own this area. I'm from the IRA. Don't tell anybody or the police or you will get two years for prostitution."

Mr Edmondson described how McCloy pulled the gun out, held it to her throat and demanded anything else of worth she had so she gave him her credit card and PIN number and then he left.

Following that incident, the woman told her friend what had happened and to beware a mobile number ending in 300.

At 2pm on Saturday 20 February, her friend arranged to meet McCloy at her apartment in Victoria Place but as McCloy got out of his car, armed police swooped and arrested him, uncovering the imitation gun in his waistband.

During interview McCloy eventually admitted what he had done, claiming it was to feed his cocaine addiction and later pleaded guilty to offences of robbery, possessing the imitation to cause fear, possessing the firearm with criminal intent and to the theft of £240 using the woman's credit card.

Defence QC Terence McDonald said that in McCloy's eyes "these people were seen as easy targets from whom to get money" but that he has shown remorse for what he did.

Jailing McCloy for six years, Judge Burgess said he clearly thought that the women were "vulnerable" and because of the services they provided, "would have been reluctant" to report matters to the police.

He described the robbery as "premeditated" and told the court it was aggravated by the use of the gun and was a "quite deliberate decision to pick vulnerable witnesses."

Source: http://www.u.tv/News/IRA-man-jailed-aft ... 48feabb8be

[friederike]

Das ist wirklich eine gute Nachricht.

Zugleich haben wir hier ein gutes Beispiel für den repressiven Effekt der Prostitutionsgesetze für die Frauen. Der Räuber glaubte, dass sie wegen verbotener Prostitution nicht zur Polizei gehen könnten.

Hoffentlich sind die beiden Kolleginnen nicht ihrerseits in Schwierigkeiten mit den Behörden gekommen. Darüber sagt der Bericht nichts.

[Aoife]

          

Hoffentlich sind die beiden Kolleginnen nicht ihrerseits in Schwierigkeiten mit den Behörden gekommen. Darüber sagt der Bericht nichts.

Einzelprostitution ist sowohl im Freistaat als auch im britisch besetzten Norden erlaubt. Insofern sollte es hier kein Problem geben.

Verboten ist allerdings die Organisation von Prostitution, was dazu beigetragen haben könnte, dass das Verbrechen überhaupt erst passieren konnte. Beweisbar ist das allerdings kaum, es gibt ja Frauen (mich zum Beispiel) die auch in Ländern wo die Organisation erlaubt ist lieber unorganisiert arbeiten.

Liebe Grüße, Aoife

[Aoife]

Die Folterkommission der UNO hat Irland aufgefordert die Verbrechen katholischer Orden in den Magdalene Laundries durch eine unabhängige Kommission untersuchen zu lassen.

link & mit Kommentar hier:

viewtopic.php?p=99844#99844

Liebe Grüße, Aoife

[Aoife]

          

Hier die Rundmail von Turn Off The Blue Light bezüglich der Sperrung dieser SW-Rechte-Organisation durch Google AdWords aufgrund angeblich "unanständiger" Inhalte (vielen Dank @Friederike für den Hinweis, dass das auch etwas für's Forum sein könnte)

Die Angelegenheit fängt langsam an ihren Weg in die mainstream Medien zu finden:
http://www.timescolonist.com/life/Jody+ ... story.html

Liebe Grüße, Aoife

[Aoife]

Ein Fall von "Blasphemie" wird polizeilich untersucht, sollte die Ausstellung tatsächlich eröffnet werden, so ist wohl mit einer Anklage zu rechnen, weil die Künstlerin die Jungfräulichkeit Marias in Zweifel zieht:

http://9thlevel.ie/2011/06/24/gardai-in ... e-of-mary/

Liebe Grüße, Aoife

[Aoife]

          

          

Hier die Rundmail von Turn Off The Blue Light bezüglich der Sperrung dieser SW-Rechte-Organisation durch Google AdWords aufgrund angeblich "unanständiger" Inhalte (vielen Dank @Friederike für den Hinweis, dass das auch etwas für's Forum sein könnte)

Die Angelegenheit fängt langsam an ihren Weg in die mainstream Medien zu finden:
http://www.timescolonist.com/life/Jody+ ... story.html

Und das kann sich selbst Google anscheinend nicht leisten:

Update: At 3:53pm today, TOBL received an email from adwords-noreply@google.com stating ‘We’ve re-reviewed your site and found that it no longer violates our Landing Page and Site policies.’

Liebe Grüße, Aoife

[friederike]

Liebe Aoife,

eine gute Nachricht! Und ein doch sehr erstaunlicher Vorfall.

LG,
Friederike

[Aoife]

McDonald calls on Government to publish Magdalene Laundries committee terms of Reference

July 5, 2011

Sinn Féin Deputy Leader Mary Lou McDonald TD has this evening called on the Minister for Justice to publish the Magdalene Laundries inter-Departmental Committee’s Terms of Reference.

Deputy McDonald said:

“Sinn Féin welcomes the appointment of Senator Martin McAleese as Chair of the Magdalene Laundries Committee. However of equal importance to an appropriate Chair are the Committees Terms of Reference.

“Minister Shatter must publish the Magdalene Laundries inter-Departmental Committee’s Terms of Reference as a matter of urgency. For far too long the State has knowingly presided over a monumental injustice against the women and children incarcerated in the Magdalene Laundries.

“These women and their families deserve an apology and they deserve redress. Fine Gael and Labour have it within their power to quickly and unreservedly right this wrong.

“I want to also reiterate Sinn Féin’s demand that Minister Alan Shatter extend the remit of the inter-Departmental Committee investigation to allow Senator McAleese examine the Bethany case alongside the Magdalene Laundries.”

Source: http://www.sinnfein.ie/contents/21122

[Aoife]

IMHO ein hervorragender Zeitungsartkel, so gut, dass ich entgegen meiner sonstigen Gewohnheit nur vor der Englishen Sprache zu warnen alle diejenigen, die es im Original nicht lesen können bitten möchte zumindest zu versuchen, ob sie mit der unten angehängten google Überstzung sich ein Bild davon machen können.

Liebe Grüße, Aoife

Crusade against trafficking may be missing the point on sex industry

By Steven King

Wednesday, July 06, 2011

Reports into human trafficking typically fail to acknowledge that foreigners who wish to come to work in the EU have very few legal options available, and thus tend to be forced into the shadow economy where they are, indeed, vulnerable to exploitation


A BBC investigation has that found up to £500,000 every week is spent on prostitution in the North, while the PSNI estimate there are 88 brothels in operation. Cue predictable outrage from every quarter. Presumably, the figures south of the border are even higher.

According to the BBC, "Many of the women working in the brothels have been trafficked from abroad. They are held captive and forced into prostitution." Sensational stuff, eh? Images of hundreds of dark ladies held in manacles, unshackled only to perform their immoral services, spring to mind.

Examine the fine print, however, and you discover that the average number of women in each of these brothels is not 25 or 50 but just 2, practically a cottage industry, in other words. So there are 170-odd whores in the North, not counting those who work the streets, servicing an adult male population of something like 700,000? Well, blow me down.

An earnest inspector was quoted as saying, "There’s a significant demand in Northern Ireland for prostitutes and that’s larger than other parts of the UK and Europe." Where his evidence came from wasn’t clear. England sounds like a seriously moral place.

Being a Northern story, it was only to be a matter of hours before the police were being bashed, this time by Amnesty International for not doing enough to help the "victims". Again, no evidence was provided for this claim. But what do I know?

Perhaps hundreds of African and East European girls have been on the phone to Amnesty complaining about the RUC, er, PSNI and their chauvinistic, patriarchal, sectarian, racist, blah, blah attitude? Or maybe not.

It was St Augustine (AD 354–430), hardly a sexual radical, who admitted that if prostitutes were banned, society "would be reduced to chaos through unsatisfied lust". Cato the Elder (234–149 BC) was even more pragmatic: noticing a young aristocrat leaving a brothel, he went over to applaud him on the grounds that the more easily his sexual desires were satisfied, the more time he would spend on serious matters.

I’m not sure I would go that far, but some of these popular misconceptions — held by the BBC, the police and Amnesty alike — deserve to be pricked.

The modern approach to sex offences has little to do with human rights. It is really concerned with patrolling sexual behaviour, and protecting stereotypical spiritual women from stereotypical animalistic men.

Reports into human trafficking typically fail to acknowledge that foreigners who wish to come to work in the EU have very few legal options available, and thus tend to be forced into the shadow economy where they are, indeed, vulnerable to exploitation.

‘Trafficking’ has too often become another word for migration. This vague and prejudiced label fails to acknowledge that people often take free decisions to leave their homes, and also that the reason they fall into the hands of ‘traffickers’ is because no one else will assist their desire to make a better life for themselves.

The frequently well-intentioned anti-traffickers claim there is a new ‘slave trade’ — tens of thousands of people, especially women and children, being sold across borders and into bondage every year. The anti-traffickers paint a picture of Conradian darkness, where women and children are bought and sold by evil gangs, and then forced into labour and kept in their place by threats of murder or voodoo vengeance.

This distorted depiction portrays foreign women, especially those who end up working in prostitution, as objects rather than as active subjects. These women do not simply move around the world; rather they are trafficked across borders, smuggled and shifted like pieces on a chess board.

Apparently, they do not make hard decisions about where to go and what work to carry out; instead they are bought and sold and forced into ‘slave labour’ from which they must be ‘rescued’, in other words, sent back where they came from — all in their own best interests, of course.

Of course, forced kidnapping should be clamped down on. But migrants are often willing to take menial jobs for relatively low wages as this is still preferable to the poor opportunities in their home countries.

To the Amnesty Internationals of this world, any woman working in the sex industry as, by definition, exploited and abused. The fact is that some migrants choose to work in the sex industry in order to avoid exploitation in other industries, where there is frequently low pay and long working hours. Police raid after police raid in Ireland and the UK has found precious few victims and rather a lot of women who have said openly and without duress that prostitution is their chosen line of work.

Curiously, though, migrants tend to become subjects of concern for campaigners only when they enter the sex industry, despite the fact that they can earn significantly more that way than they would as home-helps or fruit-pickers, for instance.

Of course, women often enter the sex industry because of a lack of choice; you would be hard-pressed to find young girls who aspire to be prostitutes when they grow up. Yet at the same time, how many workers in different industries and sectors, especially poorly paid migrant workers, feel that they have unlimited options available to them? Don’t most people work out of necessity? Ultimately, ‘trafficking’ has become a powerful and emotive tool for prostitution abolitionists to win wider public support for their efforts to clamp down on the sex industry as a whole.

In a world where hard choices have to be made, many want to get on with their jobs so they can provide for themselves and their families. For some working in the sex industry — which by the way covers everything from charging for sex to providing attentive dinner company to pole dancing — is enjoyable, or at least more fun than gutting chickens, for instance.

Yes, whenever there is forced trafficking of people, it should be clamped down upon. The problem today is that the term ‘trafficking’ is being applied promiscuously to more and more situations where individuals have not been blown by the wind to try their luck in the West; they have made a conscious decision to come here.

The crusade against trafficking looks less and less like a serious attempt to assist migrants and increase their options, and more like a super-moralistic fantasy campaign against evil and perverted Johnny Foreigners polluting and corrupting Western civilisation. Women in the sex industry, wherever in the world they hail from, can think for themselves.



This appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Wednesday, July 06, 2011

Read more: http://www.examiner.ie/opinion/columnis ... z1RKcoxENW


Berichte in den Menschenhandel in der Regel nicht zu bestätigen, dass Ausländer, die zur Arbeit in die EU kommen wollen nur sehr wenige rechtliche Möglichkeiten zur Verfügung haben, und neigen daher dazu, in die Schattenwirtschaft gedrängt werden, wo sie sind in der Tat die Gefahr der Ausbeutung


Ein BBC-Untersuchung, dass bis zu 500.000 £ pro Woche wird über die Prostitution in den Norden verbracht gefunden, während die PSNI schätzen, dass es 88 Bordelle in Betrieb sind. Cue vorhersagbarer Empörung von allen Seiten. Vermutlich sind die Zahlen südlich der Grenze sogar noch höher.

Nach Angaben der BBC: "Viele der Frauen arbeiten in den Bordellen sind aus dem Ausland gehandelt werden. Sie sind gefangen gehalten und zur Prostitution gezwungen." Sensationelle Zeug, was? Bilder von Hunderten von dunklen Damen in Fesseln gehalten, entfesselten nur ihre unmoralische Leistungen zu erbringen, in den Sinn.

Untersuchen Sie das Kleingedruckte, aber, und Sie entdecken, dass die durchschnittliche Anzahl der Frauen in diesen Bordellen nicht 25 oder 50, aber nur 2, praktisch eine Heimindustrie, in anderen Worten. So gibt es 170-ungerade Huren im Norden, nicht mitgerechnet diejenigen, die die Straße zu arbeiten, Wartung eines erwachsenen männlichen Bevölkerung so etwas wie 700.000? Nun, Schlag mich nieder.

Ein ernsthafter Inspektor wurde mit den Worten zitiert: "Es gibt eine große Nachfrage in Nordirland für Prostituierte und das ist größer als bei anderen Teilen des Vereinigten Königreichs und Europa." Wo seine Beweise aus war nicht klar kam. England, klingt wie ein ernst zu moralischen Platz.

Als Nord-Geschichte, war es nur eine Frage von Stunden, bevor die Polizei wird eingeschlagen waren, diesmal von Amnesty International für nicht genug tun, um die "Opfer" zu helfen. Wieder war keine Beweise für diese Behauptung zur Verfügung gestellt. Aber was weiß ich?

Vielleicht Hunderte von afrikanischen und osteuropäischen Mädchen haben am Telefon Amnesty beschwerte sich über die RUC, äh, PSNI und ihre chauvinistischen, patriarchalischen, sektiererische, rassistische, blah, blah Haltung gewesen? Oder vielleicht auch nicht.

Es war St. Augustine (AD 354-430), kaum eine sexuelle radikal, dass, wenn Prostituierte wurden verboten, die Gesellschaft "würde zu Chaos durch unbefriedigte Lust reduziert werden", gab. Cato der Ältere (234-149 v. Chr.) war noch pragmatischer: merkt ein junger Aristokrat Verlassen eines Bordells, ging er zu ihm mit der Begründung, desto leichter seine sexuellen Wünsche erfüllt wurden applaudieren, desto mehr Zeit würde er auf ernste Dinge ausgeben .

Ich bin mir nicht sicher, ob ich so weit gehen würde, aber einige dieser populären Irrtümer - statt von der BBC, die Polizei und Amnesty gleichermaßen - verdient, gestochen werden.

Der moderne Ansatz Sexualstraftaten hat wenig mit Menschenrechten zu tun. Es ist wirklich mit patrouillieren Sexualverhalten und den Schutz geistigen stereotypen Frauen aus stereotypen animalische Männer betroffen.

Berichte in den Menschenhandel in der Regel nicht zu bestätigen, dass Ausländer, die zur Arbeit in die EU kommen wollen nur sehr wenige rechtliche Möglichkeiten zur Verfügung haben, und neigen daher dazu, in die Schattenwirtschaft gedrängt werden, wo sie sind in der Tat die Gefahr der Ausbeutung.

"Trafficking" ist allzu oft ein anderes Wort für Migration geworden. Diese vage und voreingenommen Etikett nicht erkennen, dass die Menschen oft freie Entscheidung, ihre Häuser zu verlassen, und auch, dass der Grund, warum sie fallen in die Hände der "Menschenhändler", weil niemand ihren Wunsch nach einem besseren Leben für sich selbst machen assist ist.

Die oft gut gemeinte Anti-Schleuser Anspruch gibt es eine neue "Sklavenhandel" - Zehntausende von Menschen, insbesondere Frauen und Kinder, über die Grenzen hinweg und in die Sklaverei jedes Jahr verkauft. Die Anti-Schleuser malen ein Bild von Conradian Dunkelheit, wo Frauen und Kinder werden gekauft und verkauft von bösen Banden, und dann gezwungen in den Arbeitsmarkt und hielten an ihrer Stelle durch Androhung von Mord oder Voodoo Rache.

Diese verzerrte Darstellung porträtiert ausländische Frauen, vor allem diejenigen, die bis Ende in der Prostitution arbeiten, als Objekte und nicht als aktive Subjekte. Diese Frauen nicht einfach auf der ganzen Welt zu bewegen, sondern sie sind über die Grenzen hinweg gehandelt, geschmuggelt und verschoben wie Figuren auf einem Schachbrett.

Anscheinend tun sie nicht harte Entscheidungen treffen, wo man geht und was Arbeit durchzuführen, sondern sie werden gekauft und verkauft und gezwungen "Sklavenarbeit", aus denen sie muss "gerettet" werden, in anderen Worten, zurückgeschickt, woher sie gekommen aus - alles in ihrem eigenen Interesse, natürlich.

Natürlich sollte gezwungen Entführung nach unten auf geklemmt werden. Aber Migranten sind oft bereit, niedere Arbeiten für relativ niedrige Löhne zu nehmen, da dies immer noch besser, die armen Möglichkeiten in ihren Heimatländern.

Um die Amnesty Internationals von dieser Welt, jede Frau, die in der Sexindustrie als per Definition, ausgebeutet und missbraucht. Die Tatsache ist, dass einige Migranten in der Sexindustrie arbeiten zu wählen, um Ausbeutung in anderen Branchen, in denen es häufig niedrige Löhne und lange Arbeitszeiten zu vermeiden. Razzia nach Razzia in Irland und Großbritannien hat nur sehr wenige Opfer gefunden und ziemlich viel von Frauen, sagte offen und ohne Zwang haben, dass die Prostitution von ihnen gewählten Linie der Arbeit ist.

Seltsamerweise, obwohl neigen Migranten die Anlass zur Besorgnis für die Aktivisten nur, wenn sie die Sex-Industrie geben wird, trotz der Tatsache, dass sie wesentlich mehr auf diese Weise, als sie es als zu Hause hilft oder Obst-Picker, zum Beispiel zu verdienen.

Natürlich, Frauen häufig in die Sex-Industrie wegen eines Mangels der Wahl, man wäre hart gedrückt, um junge Mädchen, die zu Prostituierten werden, wenn sie erwachsen aspire finden. Doch zur gleichen Zeit, wie viele Arbeiter in verschiedenen Branchen und Sektoren, vor allem schlecht bezahlte Wanderarbeiter, das Gefühl, dass sie unbegrenzte Möglichkeiten zur Verfügung haben? Haben nicht die meisten Menschen arbeiten aus der Not? Letztendlich hat "Menschenhandel" zu einem leistungsfähigen und emotionale Tool für Prostitution Abolitionisten breitere öffentliche Unterstützung für ihre Bemühungen, um gegen die Sex-Industrie als Ganzes gewinnen.

In einer Welt, wo harte Entscheidungen getroffen werden müssen, wollen viele zu bekommen auf mit ihrer Arbeit, so dass sie für sich und ihre Familien bieten kann. Für einige Arbeiten in der Sexindustrie - die übrigens reicht von Gebühren für Sex zu bieten aufmerksamen Abendessen Unternehmen pole dancing - angenehm ist, oder zumindest mehr Spaß als Ausnehmen Hühner, zum Beispiel.

Ja, wenn es gezwungen wird, Menschenhandel, sollte es unten auf geklemmt werden. Das Problem heute ist, dass der Begriff "Menschenhandel" wird wahllos immer mehr Situationen, in denen Personen, die nicht durch den Wind wurden gesprengt, um ihr Glück im Westen versuchen angewendet, sie haben eine bewusste Entscheidung, hierher zu kommen hat.

Der Kreuzzug gegen Menschenhandel sieht weniger wie ein ernsthafter Versuch, Migranten zu unterstützen und zur Steigerung ihrer Möglichkeiten und mehr wie ein super-moralischen Phantasie Kampagne gegen das Böse und pervertiert Johnny Ausländer verschmutzen und beschädigen die westliche Zivilisation. Frauen in der Sexindustrie, wo auf der Welt sie von Hagel, kann für sich selbst zu denken.



Diese erschien in der gedruckten Version des Irish Examiner Mittwoch, 6. Juli, 2011

Lesen Sie mehr: http://www.examiner.ie/opinion/columnis ... 60058.html # ixzz1RKcoxENW

[Aoife]

The Sex Industry in Northern Ireland & the BBC

The BBC is a UK public service broadcaster and the largest broadcaster in the world. BBC.co.uk is one of the most popular websites in the world and people trust the BBC to bring them independent, impartial and honest news, ‘the best journalism in the world’ in the BBC’s own words.

However we have been disappointed by the BBC of late.

We are Turn Off the Blue Light (TOBL), a sex worker led association campaigning against calls to criminalise the purchase of sex, and for the health, safety, human, civil and labour rights of sex workers in Ireland.

Last week a BBC investigation brought us shocking news, Millions spent in 88 brothels in Northern Ireland. It was claimed that the demand for prostitutes is higher in Northern Ireland than in other parts of the UK and Europe, that up to £500,000 per week is being spent in brothels, which are usually run by criminal gangs, and many of the women working in these brothels have been trafficked from abroad and are held captive and forced into prostitution.

Stephen King of the Irish Examiner responded to this BBC Investigation, Crusade against trafficking may be missing the point on sex industry, and we hope the BBC read his article.

We would ask the BBC to give more consideration to their news coverage of the sex industry in Northern Ireland in the future. Repeating shocking claims is not what a BBC investigation should be.

When will the BBC actually investigate the sex industry in Northern Ireland? When will the BBC make efforts to talk to people who actually work in Northern Ireland’s sex industry, instead of only talking to those who don’t work in it but have something to say about it? We appreciate it isn’t always easy for journalists to engage with sex workers, but this is what a proper investigation into the sex industry requires. And when will the BBC start checking the information it is given, and so long as it doesn’t, when will other media outlets stop taking it as fact, like the Belfast Telegraph with its Sexism bears the blame for a vile trade in human flesh follow up to this BBC investigation?

One of the reasons why sex workers in Ireland often don’t want to engage with journalists is the poor manner in which the Irish media so often treats sex workers. We feel we need to bring the BBC’s treatment of sex workers to its attention also.

Following the BBC’s investigation into prostitution in Northern Ireland last week, BBC Radio Ulster’s Talkback show tasked itself with coming face to face with a prostitute in Belfast within 90 minutes. A BBC producer took up the challenge. In his article, One man’s encounter with a Belfast escort, he describes how he pursued an escort called Natasha he found advertised on the Internet, pretending to be a client himself, and within 37 minutes she was opening her apartment door to him, whereupon, without making any excuses, he left. Shocking was how he described it.

We agree that it is shocking, but it is not that a BBC producer found an escort in Belfast in 37 minutes which is shocking to us, it’s that the BBC considers this type of conduct acceptable.

Let’s assume that Natasha is indeed a prostitute, for arguments sake, because we do not actually know that she is. What offence is she committing to justify the BBC hunting her down like some sort of criminal? It is not a criminal offence for a woman to privately work as a prostitute in Northern Ireland, is it? Where is the respect for her privacy, the consideration for not causing harm to her?

Sex workers call men like this BBC producer suspicious timewasters and location seekers. They contact us pretending to be customers, find out our address, and then suddenly run upon arrival, leaving us not knowing what is going on. Incidents like this cause sex workers anxiety. We don’t know what is happening, what type of weird person we have encountered, will they be back, do they mean to cause us any harm? The sex industry is driven underground and this makes sex workers vulnerable to many types of abuse. We could do without the BBC scaring us like this unnecessarily.

According to the BBC’s investigation most prostitutes in Northern Ireland are working in brothels run by criminal gangs, and many have been trafficked from abroad and are held captive and forced into prostitution. We would seriously question this, but, for arguments sake, let’s assume Natasha is being forced into prostitution. If that’s the scenario, how will Natasha’s pimp lurking in the background react to her customer suddenly bolting, will he think she did something to make him run?

We are not taking the view that the BBC or the individual producer in question meant any harm here, but please BBC, think about your actions, consider how you treat sex workers. Sex workers are human beings, just like BBC staff. Sex workers deserve the same respect and consideration as everybody else. The BBC could really help sex workers in Northern Ireland by shining a light on important issues, instead of this poorly thought out approach, and that’s what we’d like to see.

Whilst we are asking the BBC to consider its approach to the sex industry, we would like to also refer to a BBC article published on 1 June 2011. This article detailed that a County Down man, who robbed a prostitute after putting a gun to her throat and telling her he was from the IRA, had been jailed for six years. This is very welcome news to us. Unfortunately in our experience most crimes against sex workers in Northern Ireland are not even reported to the police. Convictions like this really don’t happen often enough. However our joy on hearing this news was dampened by the BBC publishing the victim’s full name. Due to the popularity of the BBC, if you now search Google for the victim’s full name, the first result is this BBC article. We wonder how this woman feels about this?

Since 1976 in the UK victims of certain sexual offences, including rape, are automatically entitled to lifelong anonymity once their complaint has been made. It is a criminal offence for the media to reveal the victim’s identity. The reasoning behind this is that it was found that one of the greatest causes of distress to complainants in rape cases was the publicity that they sometimes suffered when their names and the personal details of their lives were revealed in the press. Potential publicity was also thought to be a severe deterrent to women reporting rapes.

We would very much like to see a discussion about the same protection being given to sex workers reporting any crime. Being identified in the media as a prostitute can be very damaging to a person’s life for a number of reasons. Remember there is huge discrimination against sex workers in society. It is our experience that a lack of anonymity for sex workers reporting crime is also a major deterrent to sex workers reporting crime.

Thirty-five years on from rape victims being given anonymity, sex workers still don’t have this protection, so we are not suggesting the BBC did anything wrong legally by publishing the victims name in regard to this case. But what we are saying is, morally, could the BBC show more consideration to sex workers? Is it necessary to publish sex worker victim’s names, is there any public interest in doing so? If a sex worker is a victim of crime and he/she has the courage to report it and see the process through, could the BBC consider how hard then being named in the media as a prostitute might be for him/her?

We have sent this open letter to the BBC Complaints department. We will also be trying to reach out to the individual BBC programmes, journalists and producers concerned. If you agree with us, you can help by also complaining to the BBC and/or helping us publicise this issue.

Source: http://www.turnoffthebluelight.ie/2011/ ... d-the-bbc/

[friederike]

Man darf auf die Reaktion der BBC gespannt sein.

Erstaunlich, wie unreif sich gestandene Journalisten verhalten. Wie 15jährige. Unvollendete Pubertät, möchte man sagen.

[Aoife]

Hier noch ein Kommentar zu der Google-Sache, die ich, wenn auch in Länderberichte Irland gepostet, doch für von internationalem Interesse halte:

Google takes on sex (workers)

Google, Lord of the internet, has been the centre of some controversy of late. Well, of always. But I digress.

The internet hegemon “recently removed “Turn off the Blue Light from AdWords, claiming the site represented an egregious violation of its terms of service. According to the search engine gone global superpower, the site violated its agreement by “promoting sexual services”.

Fully aware of the irony, I googled Turn off the Blue Light. Also, “egregious”.

Turn off the Blue Light is a campaign calling for the respect and protection of sex workers basic rights. The site calls for “rights based health and social services, freedom from abuse and discrimination, and self determination for sex workers.”

In an effort to sort out the confusion, I took the liberty of attempting to solicit sexual favours from the campaign’s organizers — that’s called investigative journalism. So far, no takers.

It appears that our shadowy overlords have fallen prey to the misconception that all content involving sex workers must be illegal. Of course, even a cursory inspection of the site reveals that no such solicitation is taking place.

Our supreme leaders at Google, in light of their position, have a responsibility to be more judicious with their policies instead of simply condemning a site because it has the word “sex” — which I also googled — on it.

And we all know who that sounds like.

Source (plus clickable links): http://www.apc.org/en/blog/google-takes-sex-workers

Liebe Grüßen, Aoife

[Aoife]

Report on transgender rights issue presented to Cabinet

A long-awaited report on the issue of legal recognition of the acquired gender of transsexuals was presented yesterday to Cabinet by Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton.

The report, which is to be published shortly, arises from a landmark High Court ruling that Irish transgender rights law was in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The decision ended a lengthy legal battle by Dr Lydia Foy, who was registered as male at birth and fought for legal recognition to live as a woman. It also paved the way for the Government to propose new legislation giving transsexuals the right to obtain birth certificates showing their acquired sex, and the entitlement to marry in that gender.

Source: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ire ... cw.twitter

[Aoife]

Nachdem die irische Regierung bezüglich der Schuld des Vatikans am pädophilen Mißbrauchsskandal

viewtopic.php?p=101707#101707

erfreulich deutlich geworden ist

viewtopic.php?p=101680#101680

hat der Papst Benedikt angekündigt seinen anstehenden Irland-Besuch abzusagen:

http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Pope-B ... 82508.html


Auch wenn meines Wissens niemand darüber traurig ist: Ich halte das für eine infantile Trotzreaktion ("Ich komme um mich feiern zu lassen - oder gar nicht"), die zeigt, dass es sich um eine rein auf religiöse "Würden" fixierte Persönlichkeit ohne jedes staatsmännische Format handelt. Und offensichtlich auch ohne jeden derartigen Anspruch - das könnte doch der Anlaß sein dem Vatikan seinen Status als Staat abzuerkennen ...

Liebe Grüße, Aoife

[Aoife]

Hier nur die für sex work relevante Passage:

Irish Prime Minister slams Vatican over Irish sex abuse stance

Enda Kenny - "The rape and torture of children were downplayed'

...

Kenny said the power of the Church in Ireland has left many of Ireland's brightest leaders unable or unwilling to address the horrendous Ryan and Murphy reports.

He also said that the clericalism must be devastating to "good priests".

The Taoiseach said "Thankfully for them, and for us, this is not Rome. Nor is it industrial school or Magdalene Ireland, where the swish of a soutane-smothered conscience and humanity and the swing of a thurible ruled the Irish Catholic world.

“This is the Republic of Ireland 2011.

“A republic of laws, of rights and responsibilities, of proper civic order, where the delinquency and arrogance of a particular version of a particular kind of morality will no longer be tolerated or ignored.”

Full text: http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Irish- ... 96938.html

[Aoife]

Vor einiger Zeit haben die an den Magdalene-Verbrechen beteiligten Orden (inzwischen unter dem Naman RUHAMA erneut aktiv) zugesagt, sich an der Aufklärung und Wiedergutmachung zu beteilgen.

Ich erinnere mich das damals mangels Glauben an die Ernsthaftigkeit dieser Zusage nicht gepostet zu haben, und tatsächlich:

Sisters of Mercy refuse to attend Quinn meeting

Friday, July 22, 2011 - 03:30 PM

The Sisters of Mercy have confirmed they are not attending a meeting with the Education Minister Ruairi Quinn this afternoon to discuss compensation for victims of abuse.

In a statement, the sisters said they sought a meeting with the Minister on their own and would not attend a meeting as part of a group of 18 religious groups.

The Sisters of Mercy say they have offered €20m to an independent fund, as well as properties valued at €11m.

Ruairi Quinn has previously said the offers by the religious groups fall short by several hundred million euro.

The group said that there was no agreement between the State and the 18 religious congregations that the costs of the Redress Scheme would be evenly split.


Read more: http://www.examiner.ie/breakingnews/ire ... z1SqYuSF9B

Das also ist sog. Realpolitik - in Irland sind wir inzwischen soweit, dass Priester Angst haben (müssen) auf der Strasse als solche erkannt zu werden ... die logische Folge davon, wenn Menschenrechtsverletzungen zu lange als realistischerweise zu akzeptieren hingestellt wurden.

Ich frage mich ernsthaft wie es sein kann, dass die von den Mächtigen behauptete "Realität" so lange akzeptiert und sogar unterstützt wird (solange man selbst nicht betroffen ist), bis das ganze in Gewalt ausarten muß. Können wir denn nicht vorher schon zur Vernunft kommen, auch wenn uns das vielleicht ein paar Euro Einkommen oder etwas soziales Ansehen kostet?

Liebe Grüße, Aoife

[Aoife]

Zwar nicht in direktem Zusammenhang mit SW, aber ein deutliches Zeichen für den Machtverlust der katholischen Kirche - und somit auch ein Grund zur Hoffnung auf eine vernünftige Prostitutionsgesetzgebung:

Full Text: Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny speech on Cloyne Report

Wednesday, 20 July 2011

Enda Kenny speech in the Irish Parliment on the Commission of Investigation into the Catholic Diocese of Cloyne.
Statement by the Taoiseach on the Dáil Motion on the report of the Commission of Investigation into the Catholic Diocese of Cloyne, in Dáil Éireann

The revelations of the Cloyne report have brought the Government, Irish Catholics and the Vatican to an unprecedented juncture.

It's fair to say that after the Ryan and Murphy Reports Ireland is, perhaps, unshockable when it comes to the abuse of children.

But Cloyne has proved to be of a different order.

Because for the first time in Ireland, a report into child sexual-abuse exposes an attempt by the Holy See, to frustrate an Inquiry in a sovereign, democratic republic.as little as three years ago, not three decades ago.

And in doing so, the Cloyne Report excavates the dysfunction, disconnection, elitism....the narcissism that dominate the culture of the Vatican to this day.

The rape and torture of children were downplayed or 'managed' to uphold instead, the primacy of the institution, its power, standing and 'reputation'.

Far from listening to evidence of humiliation and betrayal with St Benedict's 'ear of the heart'......the Vatican's reaction was to parse and analyse it with the gimlet eye of a canon lawyer.

This calculated, withering position being the polar opposite of the radicalism, humility and compassion upon which the Roman Church was founded.

The radicalism, humility and compassion which are the very essence of its foundation and purpose.

The behaviour being a case of Roma locuta est: causa finita est.

Except in this instance, nothing could be further from the truth.

Victims

Cloyne's revelations are heart-breaking. It describes how many victims continued to live in the small towns and parishes in which they were reared and in which they were abused. their abuser often still in the area and still held in high regard by their families and the community.

The abusers continued to officiate at family weddings and funerals. In one case, the abuser even officiated at the victim's own wedding.

There is little I or anyone else in this House can say to comfort that victim or others, however much we want to. But we can and do recognise the bravery of all of the victims who told their stories to the Commission.

While it will take a long time for Cloyne to recover from the horrors uncovered, it could take the victims and their families a lifetime to pick up the pieces of their shattered existence.

Papal Nuncio

A day post-publication, the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade met with the Papal Nuncio to Ireland, Archbishop Giuseppe Leanza.

The Tánaiste left the Archbishop clear on two things: The gravity of the actions and attitude of the Holy See.

And Ireland's complete rejection and abhorrence of same.

The Papal Nuncio undertook to present the Cloyne Report to the Vatican. The Government awaits the considered response of the Holy See.

I believe that the Irish people, including the very many faithful Catholics who - like me - have been shocked and dismayed by the repeated failings of Church authorities to face up to what is required, deserve and require confirmation from the Vatican that they do accept, endorse and require compliance by all Church authorities here with, the obligations to report all cases of suspected abuse, whether current or historical, to the State's authorities in line with the Children First National Guidance which will have the force of law.

Clericalism

Clericalism has rendered some of Ireland's brightest, most privileged and powerful men, either unwilling or unable to address the horrors cited in the Ryan and Murphy Reports.

This Roman Clericalism must be devastating for good priests.... some of them old... others struggling to keep their humanity....even their sanity........as they work so hard.....to be the keepers of the Church's light and goodness within their parishes...... communities... the human heart.

Church & State

But thankfully for them, and for us, this is not Rome.

Nor is it industrial-school or Magdalene Ireland, where the swish of a soutane smothered conscience and humanity and the swing of a thurible ruled the Irish-Catholic world.
This is the 'Republic' of Ireland 2011.

A Republic of laws.....of rights and responsibilities....of proper civic order..... where the delinquency and arrogance of a particular version..... of a particular kind of 'morality'..... will no longer be tolerated or ignored.

As a practising Catholic, I don't say any of this easily. Growing up, many of us in here learned we were part of a pilgrim Church.

Today, that Church needs to be a penitent Church. A church, truly and deeply penitent for the horrors it perpetrated, hid and denied.

In the name of God. But for the good of the institution.

When I say that through our legislation, through our Government's action to put Children First., those who have been abused can take some small comfort in knowing that they belong to a nation, to a democracy where humanity, power, rights, responsibility are enshrined and enacted, always....always.... for their good.

Where the law - their law - as citizens of this country, will always supercede canon laws that have neither legitimacy nor place in the affairs of this country.

State/Society

This report tells us a tale of a frankly brazen disregard for protecting children. If we do not respond swiftly and appropriately as a State, we will have to prepare ourselves for more reports like this.

I agree with Archbishop Martin that the Church needs to publish any other and all other reports like this as soon as possible.

I must note the Commission is very positive about the work of the National Board for Safeguarding Children, established by the Church to oversee the operation by Dioceses and religious orders. The Commission notes that all Church authorities were required to sign a contract with the National Board agreeing to implement the relevant standards and that those refusing to sign would be named in the Board's Annual Report. Progress has been in no small measure to the commitment of Ian Elliott and others.

There is some small comfort to be drawn by the people of Cloyne from the fact that the Commission is complimentary of the efforts made by the Diocese since 2008, in training, in vetting personnel and in the risk management of Priests against whom allegations have been made.

Nevertheless, the behaviour of Bishop Magee and Monsignor O'Callaghan show how fragile even good standards and policies are to the weakness and wilful disregard of those who fail to give the right priority to safeguarding our children.

But if the Vatican needs to get its house in order, so does this State.

The Report of the Commission is rightly critical of the entirely unsatisfactory position which the last Government allowed to persist over many years.

The unseemly bickering between the Minister for Children and the HSE over the statutory powers to deal with extra-familial abuse, the failure to produce legislation to enable the exchange of soft information as promised after the Ferns Enquiry, and the long period of confusion and disjointed responsibility for child protection within the HSE, as reported by the Commission, are simply not acceptable in a society which values children and their safety.

For too long Ireland has neglected its children.

Just last week we saw a case of the torture of children, within the family, come before the courts. Just two days ago, we were repulsed by the case of a Donegal registered sex offender.and school caretaker.

Children and young adults reduced to human wreckage, raising questions and issues of serious import for State agencies.

We are set to embark on a course of action to ensure the State is doing all it can to safeguard our children.

Minister Shatter is bringing forward two pieces of legislation - firstly, to make it an offence to withhold information relating to crimes against children and vulnerable adults; and secondly, at long last, to allow for the exchange of 'soft information' on abusers.

As Taoiseach, I want to do all I can to protect the sacred space of childhood and to restore its innocence.

Especially our young teenagers, whom I believe to be children. Because regardless of our current economic crisis, the children of this country are, and always will be, our most precious possession of all.

Safeguarding their integrity and innocence must be a national priority. This is why I undertook to create a Cabinet ministry for Children and Youth Affairs.

The legislation 'Children First' proposes to give our children maximum protection and security without intruding on the hectic, magical business of being a child.

Conclusion

Cardinal Josef Ratzinger said: 'Standards of conduct appropriate to civil society or the workings of a democracy cannot be purely and simply applied to the Church.'

As the Holy See prepares its considered response to the Cloyne Report, as Taoiseach, I am making it absolutely clear, that when it comes to the protection of the children of this State, the standards of conduct which the Church deems appropriate to itself, cannot and will not, be applied to the workings of democracy and civil society in this republic.

Not purely, or simply or otherwise.

CHILDREN.... FIRST.


Source: http://www.informationclearinghouse.inf ... e28638.htm

[Aoife]

Hier noch ein Zeitungsartikel zu der TOBL-google-Angelegenheit, der allerdings ein neues interessantes Detail enthält:

In der Zeit während google das google-advert-account von TOBL geblockt hatte wurden entsprechende Suchanfragen auf den Internetauftritt eine prostitutionsfeindlichen Organisation umgeleitet. Insbesondere da diese Organisation jede Stellungnahme ablehnt schließt das wohl eine Einzeltäterschaft eines moralistisch gesinnten Googlemitarbeiters aus.

Auch der "entschuldigende" Kommentar google's zur Sache scheint ja völlig an der Sache vorbeizugehen, wird aber IMHO etwas verständlicher, wenn man ihm vor dem (mangels harter Beweise bisher nur hypothetischen) Hintergrund betrachtet, dass google sich von Fundamentalisten (und ihrem Geld?) hat überzeugen lassen, diese hätten die alleinige Definitionsmacht darüber, was "anständig" ist.

Wie sonst könnte man sich erklären, dass google als Entschuldigung für ein definitiv vorurteilsbehaftetes Handeln anführt 'man habe das gemacht weil man zur Neutralität verpflichtet sei'? Und wie kann google glauben dass das überhaupt eine Entschuldigung sei - doch wohl nur, wenn sie das in dem Bewußtsein sagen, einer völlig entstellten Definition von "Neutralität" aufgesessen zu sein.

Liebe Grüße, Aoife