Tom Meagher launches anti-prostitution campaign in Ireland

Following the rape and murder of Tom Meagher’s wife, Jill Meagher, in Melbourne in September 2012, Mr Meagher has emerged as a tireless campaigner against all forms of violence endured by women. (http://wedontbuyit.eu/)

NorMAC (Nordic Model Australia Coalition) has welcomed the involvement of Tom Meagher in the launch of the Irish campaign, Prostitution: We Don’t Buy It.

Mr Meagher’s activism on this issue is a positive way of honouring his wife’s memory and was borne from reading interviews with his wife’s killer Adrian Bayley, these documented Bayley’s violent sexual history including rapes against several prostituted women, when asked why he committed these assaults, Bayley stated “I paid for her. I can do what I want with her.” (http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/husband-of-jill-meagher-cried-for-hours-when-he-learned-of-karens-death-31164692.html)

Since Jill ‘s death, Mr Meagher’s inbox overflowed with messages from thousands of women who shared their stories of sexual and physical abuse. Some were prostitutes who felt it pointless to report sexual assault because of perceived deficiencies in the justice system. (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-04-18/meagher-the-danger-of-the-monster-myth/5399108)

Mr Meagher has previously condemned the justice system which allowed Adrian Bayley out on the streets and the consistent leniency of his sentencing which saw him receive a minimum of 8 years for the rape of 5 women in prostitution. Mr Meagher also condemned the fact that Bayley received a 15 year sentence for the murder of his wife Jill when the maximum penalty for rape is 25 years. Mr Meagher has referred to the sentence as a disgrace and said “I don’t know what the maximum penalty is for if it’s not for that man? Who else could fit the bill of a maximum sentence for rape than Adrian Ernest Bayley?” http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-06-19/tom-meagher-says-justice-system-failed-his-wife/4766620

Speaking at the campaign launch of Prostitution: We Don’t Buy It, Mr Meagher condemned the attitude that tempts men into using prostitutes by promoting prostitution as a mutually consensual arrangement. He said the notion that prostitution is about sexual freedom or liberation is a lie that needs to stop. “If you pay for sex, your money’s not buying consent, it’s paying for the temporary suspension of her desire not to consent”, said Mr Meagher.

Mr Meagher is leading by example for caring, respectful men. Many men don’t buy prostitutes, but they need to speak up against normalisation of the exploitation inherent in prostitution and the myth of choice perpetuated by the sex industry lobby.

NorMAC has announced plans to bring the campaign to Australia.

• Listen to Matthew Holloway’s radio interview on the issue: http://www.4zzzfm.org.au/news/audio/2015/04/30/alternative-prostitution-laws-take-aim-male-clients
Matthew Holloway, NORMAC