Should Escort agencies be legalised in Ireland and would you use them?

Dr Cox's Ego

One for the males out there .....................

ferdi

yes

and

if i was desperate

grimsbymatt

yes and no


in reverse order

edmund_f

perhaps the question would be 'should they be private or public'?

simu

Dr Cox's Ego wrote:

One for the males out there .....................

It's possible to have male escorts for females too and also, lesbians exist - ever think of that, huh?

AARRRGH

Of course they should be legalised. The argument to keep "sex for money" illegal makes no sense whatsoever.

As someone said earlier, if you can give it away for free, why should selling it be illegal?

It baffles me how society is still so backwards when it comes to sex. We're just not as free as we think we are.

Kone

Yes

and

No

Elfish

Escort agencies? Ha ha ha

I think the word you are looking for is "BROTHELS"

Whats wrong? Too shy to call them what they are? :rolleyes:

AARRRGH

Elfish wrote:

Escort agencies? Ha ha ha

I think the word you are looking for is "BROTHELS"

Whats wrong? Too shy to call them what they are? :rolleyes:

WTF? Some people call a vagina a c*nt, some people call it a p*ssy.

Calling an "escort agency" an escort agency is perfectly acceptable.

seamus

Moved from AH

stagolee

1. only with very very strict regulations to make sure people werent getting exploited
2. no

Talliesin

Escort agencies are legal. So, for that matter, are massage parlours.

Call a spade a spade.

Quantum

Brothels should be legalised immediately - as should escort agencies. What people do in tprivate is no business of the law.

Zulu

Your poll leaves out "no and no" my friend.

MojoMaker

???

Escort agencies are currently legal.

AARRRGH

The law is something like -

It's illegal to be soliciting on the street and it's illegal to be "managing" prostitution. Everything else is legal as far as I am aware.

daveirl

This post has been deleted.

Dr Cox's Ego

"brothels" then if it makes people more comfortable. Catholic Ireland eh? :rolleyes:

Catsmokinpot

St. Augustine of Hippo held that prostitution was a necessary evil: just as a well-ordered palace needed good sewers, so a well-ordered city needed brothels

i would agree if more men were gettin some. there would be more dosile men goin out on a friday night

wouldnt use one myself tho

simu

Catsmokinpot wrote:

St. Augustine of Hippo held that prostitution was a necessary evil: just as a well-ordered palace needed good sewers, so a well-ordered city needed brothels

That was back in the days when most women had to keep their virginity for marriage, though.

daveirl

This post has been deleted.

Sleepy

My attitude to this is the same as to soft drugs. It's going to happen anyway whether it's legal or not so why not legalise it so that it can be regulated and taxed. At present the industry is worth milllions in Dublin. A quick google turns up an astounding amount of websites though according to any newspaper articles I've read on the matter, most are owned by the same cartel.

I don't accept any moral reasoning that argues that selling one's body for sex is any different than selling one's body for any other form of physical labour.

That said, it'll never happen in this backwards country, or at least it won't in the near future. It's far too sensible.

rsynnott

"Escort Agency" is a ridiculous euphamism (a real escort agency lets people hire people to be seen with at parties and such). 'Tis a brothel. Yep, they should be legalised provided they're heavily regulated; it's going to go on anyway, so it may as well be done properly, and adequate protection for the people working in the industry provided. No, I certainly would NOT use one :rolleyes:

And obviously, such facilities could also be used by women. "One for the males out there" indeed.

Quantum

rsynnott wrote:

"Escort Agency" is a ridiculous euphamism

In truth is simply a mistaken use of the word. Escort agencies are a different thing to Brothels, completely.
The fact that escort agencies might include girls who are open to offers is a separate issue.

Both should be legalised, whether the latter is now or not.

The only regulation should be in location, advertising, age, health, and normal health and safety issues.

Shabadu

I think they should be legalised, but with several regulations as others have already detailed.

One important factor should be a psychiatric analysis of the working girls, as many who have entered the industry have not had the ability to deal with it emotionally in the long run.

I'd have no objections if it was a mentally and emotionally stable woman who could deal with the realities of the lifestyle.

simu

Shabadu wrote:

I'd have no objections if it was a mentally and emotionally stable woman who could deal with the realities of the lifestyle.

Yeah, same here. Things would have to be run very differently than they are at the moment - you'd have to have official training and certification for workers in the sex industry plus full workers' rights, unions, medical checks, pension schemes etc. And people would have to start thinking of jobs in this sector as legitimate careers instead of thinking that calling someone a whore is one of the worst insults possible.

I imagine there would still be an underground world of prostitution as well because there will always be people out there who have desires few if any people would be willing to satisfy for any price. Tackling this would require us to tackle the economic inequalities on this planet and that's a whole other can of worms.

Will the stuff I outlined in my first paragraph happen in Ireland? Not anytime soon - I can see them ignoring the present problems with prostitution until they become far more visible and upsetting to the majority of voters and then coming up with some half-hearted, poorly-thought out scheme to cover the whole thing up or else reduce the more exploitative elements to a less politcally unacceptable level. (such faith I have in our dear sweet political system!)

nesf

I personally cannot see the big deal about it.

If the woman or man, is perfectly willing to exchange sex for money then I do not see why anyone has a right to say stop that. Most arguments I hear against prostitution are with regard to people being forced into it or having little or no rights or protection.

It's an untapped pool of tax revenue. Although that opens up the issue of does the government have a right to tax every transaction between two people.

Prostitution is the as the saying goes "the oldest profession". The moral thinking behind it's illegality is from the same era as when sex for pleasure was considered sinful.

Sex is no longer something sacred, it is no longer something that is reserved for marriage (by the majority, I do know people who are doing this). Why should the sale of it be illegal?

It really doesn't make sense to me. I can't see a single good reason to criminalise it.

At least if it's legalised and controlled to some extent then the practicioners can be helped and protected by the government in their line of work. At the moment they aren't.

From the past century it is clear, in all developed countries that criminalising it does not stop it from happening. In fact it seems to have little effect on it, if you want to buy sex in any major city in Ireland, you will not have much trouble.

Legalise it and tax it so it serves some useful social purpose. If people still have moral objections to it, then they can refuse to particpate in or use the services provided. No one is going to force them to go.

bonzai bob

Yes it should be legal.

Would i use one? - If there was no such thing as an STI then i probably would. Other than that, no.

The_Conductor

I'm with Sleepy- Legalise them, regulate them and tax them. If its a business, run it as a legal business- with all the safeguards for staff and obligations that it entails. The experiment in the Netherlands appears to be paying off- escorts have the security of knowing they can rely on the law as and when its required, in turn they pay their taxes like everyone else. Staff are tested for STDs every 3 months and the entire industry is treated as just another business sector- to everyones benefit.

So yes, and no- legalise it, but I don't want to use it myself.

bonzai bob

STI are tested for every 3 months yes. But it only takes one person to pass on a STI to an escort, after that, god knows how many people an escort could pass it on to within those 3 months.

Megatron

Shabadu wrote:

I

One important factor should be a psychiatric analysis of the working girls, as many who have entered the industry have not had the ability to deal with it emotionally in the long run.

This isn't done for any other job, while certian jobs do require Psychiatric visits to ensure the preson is able to function in the work place ( Space, Sub .. stuff like that) i don't see why people should be questioned to why they want to do the job ? i certianly was never questioned on my chosen profession ( Comp tech / supervisor). Don't see why it should be any different.

With some restrictions in place , well not restrictions but rather regulations the chance of someone being dupped into this line of work would be rather curtailed.


Just my options .. and on the poil.

yes
and
no.

Definelty legalised as this would reduce Mafia influence in this area, and introduce proper competition into the market. And I would definetly use them as I have in the past

Quantum

Deleted User wrote:

Definelty legalised as this would reduce Mafia influence in this area, and introduce proper competition into the market. And I would definetly use them as I have in the past

It's nice to encounter a little piece of honesty

For me I could see myself using an escort in special circumstances, for example where I have been abroad on business trips for several days at a time.
Pay for sex ? mmmm.... don't think so..... but if others so, it's no big deal if the circumstances are consensual and appropriate.

Fysh

Megatron wrote:

This isn't done for any other job, while certian jobs do require Psychiatric visits to ensure the preson is able to function in the work place ( Space, Sub .. stuff like that) i don't see why people should be questioned to why they want to do the job ? i certianly was never questioned on my chosen profession ( Comp tech / supervisor). Don't see why it should be any different.

With some restrictions in place , well not restrictions but rather regulations the chance of someone being dupped into this line of work would be rather curtailed.

Well, how many jobs require the ability to fake intimacy with total strangers on a regular basis? My point being that many high-profile porn stars, such as Jenna Jameson, have spoken out in recent years about the effects of working in porn on their personal lives; the main issue being the requirement to distinguish between "sex at home" and "sex at work" and the difficulties some partners have in understanding the distinction. Then there's the whole degradation aspect of certain types of porn.

Personally, I think the existing sex industry is already failing to protect the long-term mental health of its performers, chiefly because those involved in production have seen a rise in competition (and corresponding thinning out of profits) as the internet's popularity and availability has expanded - so the last thing they want to do is admit that working in their industry can mentally scar people and land themselves with requirements to pay for therapy sessions for all performers or wahtever.

Shabadu

Megatron wrote:

i don't see why people should be questioned to why they want to do the job ? i certianly was never questioned on my chosen profession ( Comp tech / supervisor). Don't see why it should be any different.

Hmm. And in your lofty position as Comp Tech/Supervisor have you ever been asked to straddle over a table and insert an aubergine into your rectum?

tigerlily

Hmm. And in your lofty position as Comp Tech/Supervisor



Shabadu, you are obviously a nasty peice of work. It might not be 'high' enough of a position in your eyes, but i think u should cut the slagging out before u give an opinion.

Hmm. And in your lofty position as Comp Tech/Supervisor have you ever been asked to straddle over a table and insert an aubergine into your rectum?

Just curious as to whether you have? Or is this just idle speculation that this can occur? Cause as far as I'm aware most escorts would point blank refuse to such a request. (Similiar to why many escorts/hookers will refuse to french kiss clients)

dearg_doom

smccarrick wrote:

The experiment in the Netherlands appears to be paying off- escorts have the security of knowing they can rely on the law as and when its required,

Holland isn't a very good example tbh; while it is 'legal'(or more rathe 'accepted') and it is taxed and they do STI checks regularly, it is riddled with criminality.

There are more cartels in Amsterdam than in Moscow!!

They provide the hash to the hash-bars(you didn't think they bought it from the government now did you?:)); they smuggle in the eastern-European/-African girls for their brothels, they own the city!

They're scary batsards too, if ye've ever been in the red light district ye'll probably have seen them!! And they're making more money now than when all these things were illegal!(most of the RLD's are used by tourists as opposed to the indigenous population)


No, if we were to legelise Escort agencies, I'd prefer them to do it properly than the half assed way that Holland did it!! But has any government initiative in this country ever been done properly???

Fysh

tigerlily wrote:

Hmm. And in your lofty position as Comp Tech/Supervisor



Shabadu, you are obviously a nasty peice of work. It might not be 'high' enough of a position in your eyes, but i think u should cut the slagging out before u give an opinion.

Well done tigerlily for that sterling contribution to the thread. *sigh*

Get past your own personal disagreement with Shabadu and you might notice that she, like me, has raised a valid point - ie that the lack of counselling in many jobs does not automatically mean a job involving sexual intimacy will not take its mental toll on people. If you have an answer for this, I'd be interested in hearing it. If you just want to attack people (particularly amusingly, since you then decry people attacking each other in the very next sentence) you're going to have to let go of that moral high ground you seem to think you're entitled to....

Is this thread about Escorts or normal Hookers? Because there is a difference.

With the assumption that sex is assured at the end of either encounter, Escorts are still far above that of hookers. The comparison with Holland is a bit off.

dearg_doom, mentions the Red Light district, which doesn't contain escorts. Those streets contain hookers (Window-dressers ), which consists of a blowjob and straight sex for 50 euro. This is the lower end of the scale, with everyone knowing that the Red Light is for the Tourists, and those that aren't fussy.

Escorts in Holland on the other hand charge anything from 600 euro, upwards to 3000 euros. They're educated, and perfectly content in doing their jobs, cause they're making great money.

Personally I wouldn't look to Holland for an example. I'd look at Spain. Brothels, and escorts are far more common there, and are a part of the culture. Its not a tourist gimmic like in Holland, but rather something thats considered perfectly normal. I don't actually know if its legal or not, but it doesn't have the same crinimality or scumminess that countries like Holland, or France has towards standard prostitution. (Not including quality Escorts)

The problem with this thread is that people are lumping the two together. There is a major difference in the service, quality, and cost between escorts and hookers.

My issue with the escort industry in Ireland is that theres such a stigma behind it. Irish people view paying for sex as being wrong. (However, buying a girl a drink with that aim is ok). Because there is such a stigma against any form of prostitution, its impossible for the industry to progress into anything proper. And so people give out that its run by crinimals, or that women are kidnapped to be hookers, and yet they don't realise it is THEY THEMSELVES that are holding back the industry from entering a "civilised" world.

Ireland is probably the worst country I have been in for escorts, or hookers. Yay for the puritins. However, until prostitution becomes legal and regulated, this industry will continue to work in the shadows and will continue to be operated by major crime organisations.

Legalise it.

Tristram

yes and no.

Dr Cox's Ego

smccarrick wrote:

he experiment in the Netherlands appears to be paying off- escorts have the security of knowing they can rely on the law as and when its required, in turn they pay their taxes like everyone else. Staff are tested for STDs every 3 months and the entire industry is treated as just another business sector- to everyones benefit

I thought it was monthly tests in the Netherlands?