Government urged to beef up laws on sex trafficking

The Immigrant Council of Ireland has called on the Government to ensure that shortfalls in law are addressed in the new action plan on human trafficking promised for the autumn.

It is essential that Ireland strengthens laws to combat a black economy worth over €1bn, the council said in a statement issued yesterday, on the first UN-designated World Day Against Trafficking.

It said Ireland needs a robust action plan to provide proper supports and protections for victims, as well as laws to jail those behind it and target the buyers of sex who fuel the demand for trafficking.

The Immigrant Council said the process of formally identifying victims of trafficking needed to be improved and that victims should be provided with secure accommodation and full legal support.

It is seeking the implementation of the unanimous recommendation of the Oireachtas Justice Committee for laws to target the buyers of sex, whose actions are fuelling prostitution and organised crime.

Chief executive Denise Charlton said the plan was an opportunity for the Government to send out a strong message that Ireland is not a soft target for traffickers.

“Trafficking for sexual exploitation is one of the biggest crimes of our time — and Ireland is not immune, with estimates from the CSO that human traffickers are part of a black economy which pockets €1.2bn a year,” she said.

“As a frontline agency which has supported more than 50 victims of trafficking, we know the reality of the situation.

“Our clients tell us of grim shared experiences. Often sold by a family member for a few thousand euro, tricked into coming to Ireland with false promises of a new life [and to then] end up in a brothel, forced to have sex with about a dozen men a day.”

The Immigrant Council wants the Government to:

nAddress international criticism of Ireland by ensuring that victims of trafficking are provided with safe and secure accommodation, with full access to legal supports;

nImprove the process of formally identifying the victims of trafficking;

nIntroduce laws which will target demand for prostitution and human trafficking; in other words, the buyers of sex.

“Internationally, 76% of trafficking victims are women and girls,” Ms Charlton said.

“Trafficking for sexual exploitation is six times more profitable for criminals than labour exploitation. It is time for political leadership on this issue to ensure that Ireland is no longer a country where these crimes go largely unpunished.”