Debate contribution: Justice Bill: Consideration Stage
Debate contribution by Ms Kate Nicholl on .
- MLA
- Ms Kate Nicholl
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 8 June 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Executive Committee Business
- Heading
- Justice Bill: Consideration Stage
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5600871
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Well, you said that people were implying that it was a choice and you did not believe it was a choice. When I made my comments, I said that it was a contested view. There are radical feminists who believe that any form of prostitution is violence against women and girls. There is a spectrum of views. My point is that I have worked with sex workers who said that, if they were to come up against an issue — this was at the time of Lord Morrow's Bill — they were worried that it would be more difficult for them to get support from the police. I separated that out and said that we absolutely needed to dismantle the infrastructure of trafficking. We support Paul Frew's amendment, and we think that it is worthy. My point was simply that there are women — I have met them; I know them — who, for whatever reasons — I do not cast judgement. I do not want anyone to have to engage in sex work, but it is one of the oldest trades in history. My question was about how those women who could be more vulnerable could be made more vulnerable and whether that had been considered. I do not want to make a big statement about how prostitution or sex work is something that all women want to get into. I just want to recognise that it is a fact and that there are some women who choose that. They have told me about their lived experience, and it is about respecting that and ensuring that they have the support that they need.
274 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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