Major win for women as Sex For Rent becomes a crime

Published: Tuesday, July 14, 2026

Legislation enacted today will see the offer of sex for rent exploitation be criminalised

Press release, Tuesday 14th July 2026

The National Women’s Council (NWC) has said tomorrow’s enactment of legislation to make the offer of sex for rent exploitation a crime is a major win for women in Ireland. NWC has been one of the driving forces, along with journalists, cross-party politicians, philanthropists and other organisations in the NGO sector, in bringing this legislation to pass today.

NWC Executive Director Corrinne Hasson said:

“With this legislation, women are safer in the rooms they rent, safer in the families they work in, and safer as they seek accommodation. What will be key now is that the law is implemented and enforced effectively. To facilitate this, we need to see actions on sex for rent in the next Government Strategy on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, including training for gardaí and frontline services. Online platforms must be held accountable if they host illegal ads for sex for rent. Legal protections for renters, particularly in rent-a-room schemes, must be strengthened. And there will have to be a public information campaign so that women know what they can do if they receive an exploitative offer of sex for rent”.

This milestone was a true societal effort. NWC published research in 2024 on sex for rent exploitation with the support of Community Foundation Ireland, exposing how the precise circumstances of the housing market in Ireland create a perfect environment for the sexual exploitation of women. Journalists, frontline services, and most importantly survivors have kept this form of violence against women on the agenda. This resulted in the commitment to outlaw this exploitative practice in the Programme For Government 2025 (under domestic, sexual and gender-based violence), and this was swiftly followed by Labour Party and Government Bills.  The complete implementation of NWC’s recommendations, in line with the Joint Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, will be key to respond to and prevent this crime. 

Senior Policy Officer on Violence Against Women at NWC, Ivanna Youtchak, said:

“This win for women is thanks to the efforts and collaboration of many people – but special thanks is due to the journalists who broke the story and those who kept covering it, as well as to politicians across the political spectrum who worked hard to ensure we have this legislation today. There has also been vital collaboration between organisations supporting renters, victims-survivors of sexual violence, students (especially international students), victims of trafficking which kept the pressure on and ensured this issue never got sidelined.  At the National Women’s Council, we are also grateful to our funders for their support with this project”.

 Denise Charlton, Chief Executive of Community Foundation Ireland added:

“Today, Ireland rejects sex for rent. The new laws enjoy support not only across politics, but across Irish society with a broad coalition of organisations, advocates and researchers supporting the move. As a strategic philanthropy partner, Community Foundation Ireland congratulates all who worked to bring us to this moment. Now the focus must begin on making our laws work so we can take another step towards ending sexual violence and exploitation.”

Ends/

For comment: Corrinne Hasson, Ivanna Youtchak

For more information, please contact Sinéad Nolan, NWC Senior Communications Coordinator,on sineadn@nwci.ie

About NWC

The National Women’s Council (NWC) is the leading representative organisation working for women’s rights and equality across the island of Ireland, founded in 1973.  

We are rooted in our membership. We work together with our almost 200 member groups across the island of Ireland and a growing community of individual supporters to deliver on our purpose – to achieve women’s rights and equality. Our Vision is a feminist Ireland that is just and caring, where everyone thrives. Our Mission is to lead transformative action to achieve women’s rights and equality through mobilising, influencing and building solidarity. Find out more on www.nwci.ie