Child sex traffickers ‘targeting’ asylum seekers

CHILD sex traffickers are turning up at asylum-seeker accommodation centres, pretending to be aunts, uncles or parents seeking to be reunited with their children.

They are targeting unaccompanied minors — children who have been separated from their families and are seeking asylum here — according to the Children’s Rights Alliance (CRA).

The Minister for Children, Brian Lenihan, has been warned that a lack of identity checks in these centres is being exploited and leaving many vulnerable immigrant children in the hands of traffickers.

More than 250 asylum-seeking children, who were separated from their families before coming here, have gone missing since 2001.

The CRA said that many of these go missing within 24 hours of arriving here and are likely to have fallen into the hands of traffickers.

Hundreds more have been reunited with adults, but according to the CRA there are no follow-up checks on the children after they leave state care. In a submission to Mr Lenihan’s office it said: “Although children may disappear from their hostel placements because they have been unofficially reunited with family members, there is concern that many, if not most, of the children go missing for other reasons. The very low level of adult supervision and support in hostels for separated children is a major child protection concern.”

The organisation’s chief executive officer, Jillian van Turnhout, said: “Anyone can go in and claim to be a child’s aunty or uncle or whatever. There is enough anecdotal evidence to suggest that traffickers are exploiting this, and it’s a real concern.”

The group is calling for more stringent checks on those who claim to be family members of separated children, as well as CCTV footage in hostels and other accommodation centres.

The submission also called for follow-up checks of children once they leave state care.

“Where a separated child is united with a family member there is no follow-up by social services to that placement. The Alliance suggests that these children should be visited by a social worker shortly after their placement, and again within three months.”

There are currently about 40 garda investigations under way into cases of suspected trafficking of immigrant children in Ireland.

In June a US State Department report was critical of the Government for not doing enough about the problem.