A new survey of international students renting in Ireland has found an “alarming” incidence of rooms being advertised in exchange for sex.
The Irish Council for International Students (ICOS) conducted the anonymous online survey between September 19th and October 6th, 2024, and took the views of 512 international students.
The highest proportion of respondents were from Brazil (26 per cent), with 17 per cent from India, 15 per cent from Mexico and 10 per cent from Germany. About 60 other nationalities were represented in the survey.
The most recent data from the Higher Education Authority shows there were 35,140 international students studying in Ireland in 2022 and 2023.
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The survey found that five per cent of female respondents (14 women) had either received an offer to rent a room in Ireland in exchange for sex, or had seen a room that was being advertised in exchange for sex. A further eight men who replied to the survey also gave evidence of this.
Of the 21 people who said they saw a room being advertised in exchange for sex, 81 per cent (17 people) said they saw the advertisement on social media, and four (19 per cent) said they saw the ad on a housing website.
Laura Harmon, executive director of ICOS, said “urgent legislative action is needed” to address the issue.
In its discussion of the findings, ICOS said it is “deeply concerned” that the practice of ‘sex for rent’ continues to prevail.
“Despite several commitments from Government over the last number of years to introduce legislation to criminalise this abhorrent behaviour, no action has been taken, permitting a legal loophole to perpetuate and allowing predators to operate with impunity.”
ICOS also points to the fact that most of the advertisements were found on social media, “where oversight and regulation remain minimal”.
Darling Duran, a female student who spoke to The Irish Times, said she contacted a man who was offering a one-bedroom apartment for €700 per month in Dublin. When she spoke to him, it turned out he was living in the apartment, and it was his room.
“He said to me, ‘I’m single and I don’t have problem to share my bed with you.’ I didn’t accept it of course, but after that he was trying to invite me on a date,” she said.
The survey also found overcrowding was an issue, with 75 per cent of respondents saying they shared a room with at least one other person, while 14 per cent said they were expected to share a bed with a stranger.
Some 38 per cent said they did not have a lease agreement.
Affordability was another issue, with 61 per cent saying half of their monthly salary goes towards paying their rent, while 20 per cent said almost three-quarters of their salary is spent on living arrangements. A slight majority (51 per cent) were paying up to €600 a month in rent, with the remainder paying more than that.
[ Landlords seeking sex for rent has ‘become normalised’Opens in new window ]
Accommodation scams were also a problem for these renters, with 11 per cent saying they had been deceived.
More than half (54 per cent) of respondents said their mental health had been impacted by the housing crisis in Ireland.
Among the recommendations contained in the report were legislation to crack down on sex for rent, the establishment of a National Student Accommodation Strategy and a scaling up of affordable housing and purpose-built student accommodation.
“Our new research exposes the alarming realities that international students in Ireland are struggling with to find safe, affordable and minimum-standard accommodation,” Ms Harmon said. “The extent of financial strain and overcrowding is deeply concerning. Urgent action is needed to address these issues, in particular sex-for-rent exploitation, to ensure that Ireland remains a welcoming and supportive destination for international students.”
