Women being forced into sex to pay drug debts as intimidation rises

Some women who owe a drugs debt are paying it off by being brought to hotels and forced to have sex with men as payment, research has found.

Children as young as 10 are being used by drug gangs to intimidate people in communities plagued by the drugs trade, Government-funded research has found.

It said some women who owe a drugs debt are paying it off by being brought to hotels and forced to have sex with men as payment.

In one case, a dealer knew that one out of 12 houses had “ratted” on him to the gardaí, but did not know which house, so he decided to target and intimidate the entire block of houses and the occupants in them.

In other cases, young men are being forced to admit guilt to a crime and carry out a prison sentence on someone else’s behalf.

The report said the nature of violence “is becoming more extreme” as the competition and pressure for gangs to hold and expand their territory is increasingly more intense.

University of Limerick researcher Dr Sean Redmond, who has carried out seminar work on gangs, communities and children, said the report painted a “dystopian” picture of life in affected areas and said that for most people caught up in it they see “no way out” other than to participate in it or endure.

The report, ordered by the Department of Health, sets out a blueprint for a new system to try and deal with Drug Related Intimidation (DRI), saying the current structures were “not working”.

The new inter-agency DRIVE (Drug Related Intimidation & Violence Engagement) programme will begin implementation next year.

Often vulnerable people can be coerced to deal drugs, perpetrate violence or launder money. File picture: PA

Drugs strategy minister Frank Feighan, who launched the report, said it was “not acceptable that the lives of families and communities are blighted by the violence and intimidation associated with criminal groups”.

The report said the intimidation can take the form of ‘low level’ intimidation that affects the entire community, such as dealing groups patrolling neighbourhoods, cruising on scrambler bikes or hanging around – creating “no go areas” for older people and young families.

Criminal damage can include scratching or burning cars, throwing glass bottle and petrol bombs at houses and entering a house and “smashing it up”.

Often vulnerable people, such as street drinkers or adults with learning disabilities, can be coerced to deal drugs, perpetrate violence or launder money.

Researchers said that at least three people interviewed referred to “forced prostitution” of young women to service a debt – as well as threats to rape daughters.

The report said the level of violence was not linked to the level of debt and that the level of violence was entirely “at the whim” of the gang leaders and that “grotesque” levels of violence even for small debts was to “enhance fear and dominance in the community”.

The research found that young males aged 16-24 were the primary perpetrators of DRI in communities.

“A potential new trend is the growing incidence of intimidation carried out by children as young as 10-14,” the report said. “This mostly involved throwing stones at houses and damage to cars.” It said interviewees said the coercion of young people to carry out intimidation was a “critical concern”.

Chairperson of the Drive oversight committee, Brid Walsh of the North Dublin Drugs and Alcohol Task Force said it was a complicated problem.

The report said that victims and perpetrators often know each other and that victims can become perpetrators – and that perpetrators are “low level” in the gang hierarchy.

It said DRI was “normalised and accepted” in communities, particularly those with high levels of deprivation.

It said DRI “sustains” and “drives” the drugs economy and young people are lured by the visible trappings of wealth and respect.

The report said: “The focus of DRI interventions must be around managing the issue rather than creating unrealistic expectations around complete cessation.

“The nature of the violence is becoming more extreme as the competition and pressure for gangs to hold and expand their territory is increasingly more intense.” It said the prevailing view of people was that the current Drug-Related Intimidation Reporting Programme, developed by the Gardai and the National Family Support Network was “not working” and said there was “a lack of faith and trust” in the system.

The new model sees a DRIVE lead, from the community and voluntary sector, being established in each of the drug and alcohol task forces, who would facilitate inter-agency cooperation, organise training and gather data.

These leads would in turn form a national network, led by a coordinator.