Sex work just got more dangerous in Northern Ireland…Stormont passes new law to criminalise men paying for sex

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See  article from  irishtimes.com

A repressive new to endanger sex workers by banning paying for sex in Northern Ireland has passed itsfinal stage in the Stormont Assembly.The region will become the first part of the UK to introduce such oppressive restrictions of liberty when the Bill receives the formality of royal assent. The law change, championed by Democratic Unionist Assembly member Lord Morrow, has been hailed by Christian groups but denounced by prostitutes’ representatives. The fate of the Bill’s contentious clause six, proposing the ban on purchasing sex, was uncertain at the outset of a crunch debate in October, with Sinn Fein’s decision to back the prohibition with the DUP proving crucial.

Is it all politicians can do, dream up new ways to imprison ordinary people?…Northern Ireland Assembly votes in laws to ban some people’s sex lives, and to impoverish and endanger sex workers

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See  article from  theguardian.com See  article from  belfasttelegraph.co.uk

Around 17,000 men in Northern Ireland, 3% of the adult male population, pay for sex each year, according to new research.The first report of its kind on prostitution found that criminalising prostitution here would put sex workers in greater danger, was unlikely to deter customers and almost impossible to police. Queen’s University questioned 171 sex workers online, 31 of which said they lived in Northern Ireland while 62 said they had sold sex here. Also quizzed were 446 people who had paid for sex, 51 of whom live here and 89 who had purchased it in Northern Ireland. The research found: 61% of sex workers thought changing the law would make them less safe; 85% of sex workers believed outlawing the purchase of sex would not reduce sex trafficking; 2% of prostitutes supported criminalising the purchase of sex; 16% of clients said a change to the law would make them stop paying for sex. Researches said there were around 350 sex workers available in Northern Ireland every day. The vast majority are online, with about 20 estimated to be involved in street prostitution, mostly in Belfast and Londonderry. But of course the pleasures, livelihoods and safety of so many people means little to many selfish politicians who seem to enjoy putting other people in prison so they can feel good about their own equality or whatever.Now paying for sex is to be banned in Northern Ireland after members at the Stormont assembly backed the proposal. The human trafficking and exploitation bill was tabled before the assembly by Democratic Unionist peer Lord Morrow. The fate of the bill’s contentious clause six, proposing the ban on purchasing sex, was uncertain at the outset of the debate, with Sinn Fein’s decision to back the prohibition along with the DUP proving crucial. The clause was passed during the bill’s consideration stage by 81 votes to 10 shortly after 11.30pm. Stormont’s justice minister, David Ford, leader of the cross-community Alliance party, opposed the clause. While the legislation still has to pass further assembly stages, the significant majority support within the devolved administration means it is essentially now destined to become law.

Video Recordings Bill…Extending the VRA to Northern Ireland

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Based on article from theyworkforyou.com

Transcript from Legislative Consent Motion Executive Committee Business Northern Ireland Assembly debates, 11 January 2010 Nelson McCausland (DUP): I beg to move That this Assembly endorses the principle of the extension to Northern Ireland of the Video Recordings Bill. This is a short Bill that will repeal and revive certain provisions of the Video Recordings Act 1984. The Bill is needed because it has recently come to light that penalties for offences under that Act are unenforceable. That is due to a failure to notify certain provisions in the 1984 Act and the labelling regulations that were made under it to the European Commission under the European Union’s technical standards directive. The aim of the Video Recordings Bill is to rectify that situation. The Video Recordings Act 1984 introduced a system of classification for video films and some video games. It created a series of offences concerning the supply of classified videos and video games to persons under certain ages. The 1984 Act also contains offences concerning the supply of unclassified material. The Act requires that videos, DVDs and certain boxed video games would be classified by the British Board of Film Classification. It makes it illegal to supply unclassified material and to supply age-restricted material to people below the specified age rating. It also limits distribution of adult films material. Video and film classification is a transferred matter, because it is not listed in schedules 2 or 3 to the Northern Ireland Act 1998. The criminal law, and the creation of offences and penalties, remains expressly reserved under paragraph 9 of schedule 3 to the 1998 Act until the devolution of policing and criminal justice matters takes place. Without the repeal and revival of the Video Recordings Act 1984, the penalties for offences under that Act are unenforceable, and we are unable to protect the public and our children from the distribution of inappropriate and offensive material. When passed, the Video Recordings Bill will come into force and will become the Video Recordings Act 2010. It will extend to England, Wales and Scotland, and, if the Assembly agrees to the legislative consent motion, it will extend to Northern Ireland. Consent for Northern Ireland’s inclusion in the Bill has been sought from the Committee for Culture, Arts and Leisure and from the Executive. Both have given their consent to proceed with the proposed Bill. The Assembly must now consider the principle of extending the Bill to Northern Ireland. We need a united approach to video and film classification across the United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland, and to the matter of criminal offences and penalties, as well as the enforcement mechanism for those offences. Our children and vulnerable adults must be protected. I hope that Members will agree and support the motion, which has been designed to allow a parallel timetable for delivery and to ensure that the legislation continues to be consistent across the United Kingdom. Barry McElduff (Sinn Féin) The Committee for Culture, Arts and Leisure considered the legislative consent motion on the Video Recordings Bill at its meeting on 3 December 2009. The Committee had been briefed by departmental officials on the implications of the Bill three weeks earlier on 12 November 2009. The Committee agreed, on a without-prejudice basis, to support the motion, which will see the extension of the provisions of the Video Recordings Bill to this region. The Committee understands that the purpose of the Bill is straightforward, as the Minister outlined. Its purpose is to repeal and revive the existing provisions of the Video Recordings Act 1984 in order to make the criminal offences in that Act enforceable. That will mean that proper public protections are in place around the supply and classification of age-related films and video games. The Committee welcomes that move and the positive implications for protecting children and young people. The Committee welcomes the extension of the provisions of the Video Recordings Bill to this region, and I commend the motion to the House. ..followed by supportive speeches from other parties and members… Question put and agreed to. Resolved: That this Assembly endorses the principle of the extension to Northern Ireland of the Video Recordings Bill.