Joe Higgins TD speaking at pro-choice Rally at Dail

“It felt like a prison, no time for lunch and I was on call 24/7... There was no choice about which men you saw and some men wanted sex without condoms. If you refused to have anal sex you had to pay a penalty or the ‘security’ men would beat you up.” This is part of a testimony from Isobel, contained in the Immigrant Council of Ireland’s 2009 report on sex trafficking in Ireland, found on turnofftheredlight.ie , a campaign against prostitution and sex trafficking supported by a number of trade unions as well as women and immigrant groups.

International Women's Day Protest - 6pm at the Spire, Friday 8 March

• Stand up for women's right to choose
• Stop violence against women
• Rage against rape
• Oppose austerity & the assault on the public sector

In recent months, millions of women worldwide have risen up to resist the devastating effect that the economic crisis is having on their lives. Hundreds of thousands of super-exploited textile and other workers in Bangladesh, China, Cambodia and elsewhere have participated in a wave of strikes for higher wages which spread rapidly from one Asian country to another. Millions of women workers have taken part in general strikes in France, Spain, Greece and Portugal, and in the huge protests against public sector attacks which have swept across Europe.

With important victories this year for the LGBT community in Ireland, it was with an air of celebration and progress that an estimated 25,000 marched in the Dublin Pride Parade this June.