Underage teens trafficked here as sex workers
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Tuesday September 01 2009
YOUNG teens below the legal age of consent are being trafficked into Ireland for sexual exploitation, new figures show.
A cloak of invisibility now surrounds the sex trade, with criminals operating in a "hidden world" in which women are marketed over the internet, according to the support group Ruhama.
Ireland has become "firmly enmeshed in the global sex trade", the group, which aids women sexually exploited for commercial purposes, has warned.
It also fears more people may get involved in prostitution due to the downturn.
During 2007 and 2008, its newly published report stated there were 341 women directly assisted by the group, including 100 women trafficked into Ireland specifically for prostitution, the majority from Nigeria.
Six of the women were under the age of 18; some were as young as 15 at the time they were lured into prostitution.
Gardai said last night that 23 potential victims of trafficking had been referred to the Garda National Immigration Bureau in 2008 and, where appropriate, these were being investigated with police forces from other jurisdictions such as the UK and the Netherlands.
A senior officer said all referred cases were fully investigated and if sufficient evidence was found files were prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
In some cases, gardai provided assistance to other police forces where the victim had been found here and the trafficker lived elsewhere.
Immunity
As a result of a recent investigation, female victims discovered in Naas and Navan were granted immunity from prosecution by the DPP to help further garda inquiries.
Last December, a major prostitution racket, involving female foreign nationals, was broken up by gardai following raids on brothels across the country.
Marking its 20th anniversary yesterday, Ruhama director Kathleen Fahy warned that technology is also playing a major role in the expansion of the sex trade, allowing criminals to ply their trade covertly.
"In 1989, prostitution was very visible on the streets of Dublin but this has gradually changed over the years and today we are dealing with a predominantly indoor and more covert sex trade," she said.
She added that it had become more difficult for the charity to approach and come to the aid of women as they are less visible on the streets.
The domestic market for prostitutes has surged over the past decade making it a lucrative business, she stressed.
"Many women involved in prostitution are controlled by criminals. They are beaten, afraid and see no way out. These criminals now operate in a hidden world and use modern technology to control and market the women," she said.
More than 2,000 women have been assisted by the charity over the two decades, with some going on to leave the industry by availing of their counselling, accommodation and education programmes.
Fine Gael's immigration spokesman Denis Naughten said Ireland's asylum system was a "soft touch" for traffickers.
Mr Naughten pointed to figures he obtained which show 65 people, including 14 children, had been identified by gardai over the past year as potential victims of human trafficking.
There have been 151 investigations by gardai over the past 18 months into alleged trafficking but, to date, no prosecutions have taken place.
- Louise Hogan and Tom Brady
