This is do powerful, thank you @cooke_pan The culture within the gardaí needs to change before we task them with aiding victims of image based abuse or sex workers. It comes from the top down.

https://amp.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/republic-of-ireland/garda-accused-of-rape-says-he-arrested-prostitute-then-later-returned-to-brothel-to-have-sex-with-her-31373259.html https://twitter.com/cooke_pan/status/1329793217387229196

@SWAIIreland and I met with senior Gardaí this year to ask them to stop evicting sex workers including single mothers and trans women and to stop driving up HIV in Ireland by using condoms as evidence as per guidance of WHO, UNAIDS. Etc. The responses were sickening and chilling.

In no uncertain terms we were told that not only would they continue to evict sex workers but they’d gotten funding to hire an additional 75 gardaí to increase evictions. “Our aim is to disrupt the prostitution industry at all costs.” The cost is lives of the vulnerable.

We told them that undocumented workers are afraid to carry condoms for fear of being jailed and deported. Coupled with increased vulnerability under NM and failed Catholic sex ed clients are demanding unprotected sex. This is disastrous for Ireland. The gardaí were unmoved.

They told us that while those in the room were concerned for the welfare of sex workers () they have no control over a garda harassing a worker on the street, and should he harass her based on his religious inclinations they would support him in that.

they attempted to assure us trust in gardaí was growing amongst sex workers. I told them I had spoken to 2 workers that were afraid to report to gardaí for fear of making their circumstances worse. This outraged them “how can we make it worse?!” Eviction? “We HAVE to evict them!”

I’m terrified that the horrific fiasco of an attempt at research released last week by @ucdgearyinst will be what the government uses to justify keeping the cruel Swedish model. No workers were interviewed, just gardaí and Magdalene NGOs that pushed for and secure € from the law

I believe that nothing good will come from working with or through the gardaí who are already working hard to downplay and discredit the societal problems in our society highlighted by the image based abuse leaks recently. What will change them is pressure from the people.

That the Garda whose actions led to the death of Dara Quigley received no punishment and keeps his job is a feature not a bug. What other job would keep you on if you’d done this?

I can’t praise @meganjrenee enough, she’s the brave Irish hero all the so-called patriots tell themselves they are, bravely standing up by herself to centuries of Irish misogyny to make a change in Ireland for the better and that change is happening.

Also I wanted to praise @LindaOkaythen @EmmaJaneDempsey @OhLookItsMe7 @kuxii @JoyTendai @Evie_Nevin @Sprocketburp @Castletonian at @Vicsalliance for the heroic work they’ve done to highlight the problem of image based abuse in Ireland and to help the victims, y’all are legends

I forgot to mention: at one point the senior garda told us he was being "very nice,“ that tomorrow he could come down on us with the full weight of the law, miming a knight (presumably) bringing a big sword crashing down. He was deflated after I asked him what good that would do?

The women with SERP @ucdgearyinst , Ruhama et al have become comfortable and complicit and a fundamental part of the systemic oppression of women in Ireland. That they plan to profit () from DP instead of fighting to dismantle it tells you everything you need to know.