Controversy over four Romanian women fined €200 for brothel-keeping

The four women, aged 21, 22, 23 and 30, pleaded guilty to charges of brothel-keeping at a special sitting of Galway District Court yesterday

Gardaí told the court they believed the women were under the control of Dublin- or Belfast-based pimps, and Judge Gerard Furlong agreed the women had not set up the brothel themselves.

The women maintained they set up and maintained the brothel by themselves in order to make money for their families in Romania.

However, Judge Furlong ruled another party not before the court was involved. After convicting and fining each woman €200, he asked gardaí to put them in contact with organisations which could help them.

The outcome earned wide criticism on social media.

A spokesperson for the Sex Workers Alliance Ireland (SWAI) told Irish Legal News: “SWAI cannot comment on the specifics of any individual case. However we can say that it is commonplace for sex workers working together to be arrested and charged with brothel keeping in Ireland. Sex workers are continuously targeted by this law that was intended to protect them from exploitation.

“It might come as a surprise to people that this will not change under the proposals in the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015. In fact the Bill is going to make it worse for sex workers working together for safety by doubling the penalties for collective working.”

The spokesperson added: “We need better training for the Gardai in the identification of exploitation or trafficking. If Gardai believe any person is a potential victims of trafficking then they should treat them like victims and not like criminals.”