Sex For Rent: National Women’s Council call on politicians to outlaw exploitation

Published: Tuesday, October 08, 2024

The National Women’s Council (NWC) has called on government and the Minister for Justice to prioritise legislation outlawing Sex For Rent exploitation as a matter of urgency before a general election. NWC will brief politicians at Leinster House today, highlighting our report which found this kind of exploitation is widespread across the country, and is highly gendered.

NWC Director Orla O’Connor said:

“Women in housing precarity are being forced to choose between sexual exploitation and homelessness. This dire situation is facing women across the country, rural and urban, yet despite repeated promises from government, there is still no legislation in place to tackle this abhorrent form of exploitation. The impact that this has on women cannot be overstated, making the very place they should feel safest – their home – a place of sexual exploitation.

Government has been on notice about this issue for years now, and legislation to tackle it was due to be included in the Sexual Offences and Trafficking Bill. That Bill has now come and gone, and still there is no solution for these women. Budget 2025 provided little reassurance that the housing crisis will be tackled in any meaningful way, and this is the underlying context in which Sex For Rent exploitation can happen. Even with legislation, until the housing and homelessness crisis is tackled, women will still be sexually exploited by unscrupulous landlords.”

Feargha Ní Bhroin, NWC’s Violence Against Women Officer, said:

“Our report found that students and migrant women are particularly vulnerable to Sex For Rent exploitation, because of their specific difficulties in accessing suitable accommodation. Renters who rent a room from a live-in landlord are also especially vulnerable, and lack the legal protections of other tenancies. As students return to university this autumn, there is an urgent need to ensure all women are protected from this kind of exploitation.”

Ann-Marie O’Reilly, National Advocacy Manager at Threshold, said

“Finding a home to rent continues to be a struggle for many people today. Limited housing options can leave people with little choice but to accept housing that is unsuitable or substandard. It can also put some of the most vulnerable at risk of exploitation by unscrupulous actors. There is a role for legislation in protecting people from such exploitation, however ensuring access to secure, good quality and affordable housing for all members of society is the only sure way of protecting the most vulnerable.”

Denise Charlton, Chief Executive of Community Foundation Ireland added:

“As a strategic partner of both the National Women’s Council and Threshold we welcome this research setting out the reality of sex for rent. It thrives on exploitation. It is abuse. It is Gender Based Violence. The failure by policymakers to act is hugely difficult to understand as the body of evidence grows. Community Foundation Ireland fully supports the calls for urgent legislative action without any further delay.”

Orla O’Connor, Feargha Ní Bhroin and Ann-Marie O’Reilly will hold a briefing in the AV room of Leinster House at 11am today.

Ends/

For comment: Orla O’Connor, Feargha Ní Bhroin

Find here NWC’s report on Sex For Rent: https://www.nwci.ie/images/uploads/NWC_Sex_For_Rent_Research.pdf

For more information, please contact Sinéad Nolan, NWC Communications and Social Media Coordinator, sineadn@nwci.ie

Notes:

What: NWC political briefing on Sex For Rent exploitation

When: 11am, with photo call at gates of Leinster House at 10:45am

Where: AV Room, Leinster House

Speakers:

Orla O’Connor, NWC Director
Ann-Marie O’Reilly, National Advocacy Manager, Threshold
Feargha Ní Bhroin, NWC’s Violence Against Women Officer and author of the report.