Prostitution ring with 70 women to be targeted

SEARCH and arrest operations are planned for Dublin, Cork and Galway in relation to an alleged prostitution ring involving 70 Hungarian women.

Details of the alleged trafficking crimes emerged from a court hearing in Belfast earlier this week which found that women had allegedly been brought to Dublin and Belfast under the guise of working in a restaurant.

Belfast Magistrates Court heard the Hungarian embassy had contacted the Metropolitan Police about a woman who had gone to work in a restaurant but allegedly had been forced into a brothel to work as a prostitute.

Police in court said the scale of the alleged ring could span to the four corners of the country.

Gerardine Rowley of Ruhama, which works with women affected by prostitution, said while she could not comment on specific cases, prostitution was widespread across the country and now had a presence in every county.

Ms Rowley said women working as prostitutes in Ireland tended to be foreign, and Ruhama was continually working with women who are victims of sex trafficking, but they are just the tip of the iceberg.

Although comprehensive human trafficking legislation was introduced in this country in 2008, no one has yet been convicted.

According to Ms Rowley it is too difficult to get a case before the courts and the legislation is lacking.

“All a pimp needs is a mobile phone number or a website.

“Gardaí need to tackle not just closing down premises but numbers and internet sites,” she said.

Commenting on remarks made by Mick Wallace that prostitution should be legalised, Ms Rowley said they were “misguided” and said she would welcome a chance to meet with Mr Wallace and explain why.

Ms Rowley said Ruhama was working towards the Swedish model of law which criminalises the user of prostitutes.

“If you legalise prostitution pimps will simply become legitimate business men. Women will still be abused. Prostitution can never be a clean business. In countries where prostitution is legalised it has resulted in an increase in sex trafficking,” she said.

Meanwhile a new EU directive adopted by the European Council this week, and which is legally binding for all EU states, provides for specific treatment of human trafficking victims.

The new directive takes a victim centred approach to cover actions in different areas, such as criminal law provisions, prosecution of offenders, victims’ support and victims’ rights in criminal proceedings.

Ms Rowley said she looked forward to seeing it adopted into Irish law.