Statement on Future of Ugly Mugs Ireland

Update: 7:30pm, 9 July 2025

We acknowledge the huge upset our previous announcement about the closure of Ugly Mugs Ireland has caused. We do not yet have all the answers, but we are now in a position to confirm that we will not close at the end of August. That was too soon a date to give and we are sorry for having done it.

We are currently in the process of talking to many sex workers and sex work orgs, to try to find the best way forward. We will continue to constructively talk within the sex work community about the future of sex worker safety in Ireland. Ugly Mugs Ireland will not take any action whilst these critical talks are taking place.

We hope this update will alleviate the great anxiety many have been feeling over the past several days and we apologise for having been the cause of this distress. We are deeply thankful to everyone who has offered us support and apologise that we cannot reply individually to all of you immediately.

Update: 11am, Wednesday 2 July 2025

We acknowledge the huge distress the publication of our statement on the closure of Ugly Mugs this morning has caused for people who rely on Ugly Mugs. We can confirm we will extend our closing date out until 31 August 2025 to give our members more time as 31 July 2025 was too soon.

9am, Wednesday 2 July 2025

Statement on Closure of Ugly Mugs Ireland

Ugly Mugs is a not-for-profit technology initiative that improves the safety of sex workers in Ireland and reduces crimes committed against them, by bringing sex workers together to share information about potential dangers.

For twenty plus years, we have worked tirelessly in partnership with people doing sex work and victims of sex trafficking to try to make things better. However, sadly, the bigger picture is that things have only ever got worse.

Since we started out, the number of people doing sex work in Ireland has greatly increased. Most concerningly, we have also seen an absolutely massive rise in abuse and crime against sex workers.

Ugly Mugs has long been like a sticky plaster trying to plug a dam. It is not working. It is not sustainable. With regret, we have decided we cannot go on. Ugly Mugs Ireland will be closing. We plan to close on 31 July 2025.

Our work is vital and needed. We hope some intervention will be made by governments, to fund support services for people in sex work and victims of sex trafficking. Real support services. Not anti sex work lobby groups.

The governments in Ireland have created and continue to foster conditions where abuse and crime against people in sex work is thriving. This is not ok.

We know people doing sex work in Ireland have always been a strong supportive community no matter how hard times are. Ugly Mugs could never have been anything without the wonderful community of people doing sex work that we have. To everyone doing that community work, keep going.