‘Appalling’ | 

Hundreds of women ‘forced into prostitution’ in Ireland

The Government today launched the Third National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking.

Yesterday at 18:37

Hundreds of women in Ireland have been “forced into prostitution”, according to Minister for Justice Helen McEntee.

She was speaking after the Government launched the Third National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking, which aims to combat human trafficking in Ireland by supporting survivors and clamping down on those responsible.

Speaking on Newstalk Breakfast this morning, Ms McEntee said some of the women who have been trafficked here have suffered horrendous sexual and emotional abuse.

“This is something people maybe don’t think about a lot, but we know that there are, for example, hundreds of women in this country who have been forced into prostitution,” she said.

“They have been locked in a room where they have been beaten, they have been starved, they have been raped until they accepted where they were and until they accepted that they would have to engage in prostitution.”

The minister said sex work and human trafficking are “inextricably linked” in Ireland.

“If you look at the estimated figures from An Garda Síochána, between 1,000 and 1,600 women are working in prostitution,” she said.

“Even if you were to take the lowest number of 1000, and even if you were to take a fraction of that, we are still talking about hundreds of women in this country who have been forced into prostitution.”

The minister said there are also people who have been trafficked into Ireland are now being forced to work in “absolutely dire” conditions for extremely low wages, while figures also state that at least five children were trafficked here last year and at least one person was trafficked for the purposes of organ harvesting.

The new plan, the third national plan launched by the Government, takes more “victim-centred” approach to preventing and ending human trafficking and includes new measures to make it easier for victims to come forward and access support.

Training for those who may come into contact with human trafficking victims and dedicated accommodation for victims will be provided.

There are also plans to provide victims with protection from deportation and exit pathways for those impacted by prostitution.

Minister McEntee said the plan’s overall objective is to be as victim centric as possible.

“What I mean by that is that we encourage victims of human trafficking to come forward so that we can provide them support and assistance, but that we also bring to justice those who are responsible for this,” she said.

“I mean, this is the most appalling type of crime when you think of it.

“This is treating individuals – people – like commodities and those who are responsible for this have absolutely no respect for human dignity, for human life, for basic human rights.

“So it is really important that those who are victims, that they know that there is a pathway for them to get help; to be provided with assistance and support, but also that those who are responsible, that they’re brought to justice.”