Tougher human trafficking laws needed

JUST 10 convictions for human trafficking were secured in the last five years, despite campaign groups warning the problem is widespread.

In its 2006 Trafficking in Persons Report, the US State Department said Ireland had become “a transit and destination country for a significant number of trafficking victims from Eastern Europe, Africa, Latin America and Asia”.

NGOs such as Ruhama, which helps women working in prostitution, say they have come across a growing number of trafficking victims. Ruhama says it knows of more than 200 women trafficked into Ireland, and that’s “only the tip of the iceberg”.