In a recent press release, the National Women’s Council (NWC) addresses the issue of the “ongoing scandal of sex for rent exploitation”. The council mentions their frustrations that it has been three years since the government first put this issue on notice. The Women’s Council Report shares, that due to the housing crisis women are forced to “choose between homelessness and sexual exploitation”.
According to the Council’s report, “since early 2022 the number of women in homelessness has been steadily increasing, with a shocking 49% rise in the number of women homeless in the last two years”. They suggest that this is caused by the gender pay gap which inflicts on a woman’s ability “to find affordable housing and become homeowners”.
The report shows evidence that homeless women are more vulnerable to “violence, exploitation and marginalisation and higher rates of poverty “, making it harder for them to escape their situations. The report further details that many homeless women and other groups of “women, such as students, migrants and women fleeing domestic violence are particularly targets for Sex For Rent exploitation”.
The report shares political parties’ responses to the issue. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin, Sinn Féin spokesperson for Housing, Local Heritage, and Government has said that this problem is a “disgusting predatory form of behaviour”. According to the report Ó Broin in August 2023 “published a bill which would criminalise this practice as well as the advertising of such proposals.” After drafting this legislation and “achieving all party support,” the bill faced “pre-legislative scrutiny and was rejected”. Fine Gael, also called this behaviour “unacceptable” and stated that those who engage, “will face the full rigours of the law”. Both the Green Party and the Labour Party express their desire to pass laws to protect renters from sexual exploitation. According to Denise Charlton, Chief Executive of Community Foundation “The failure by policymakers to act is hugely difficult to understand as the body of evidence grows”.
The NWC urges the government and Minister for Justice to “prioritise legislation outlawing sex for rent as a matter of urgency before a general election”. The NWC asks supporters to put “pressure on political parties to fast-track this legislation and commit to outlawing sex for rent exploitation in their election manifestos”.
