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Dublin: 17 °C Wednesday 19 June, 2013

Children subjected to prostitution in Dublin, Cork and Kilkenny – report

A US State Department report released yesterday has sparked calls for greater awareness of human trafficking that is happening here in Ireland.

File photo
File photo
Image: Paul Barker/PA Archive/Press Association Images

THE US STATE Department’s annual report into human trafficking worldwide has said it has received reports of children being subjected to prostitution in areas such as Dublin, Cork and Kilkenny.

Though the report, which was published yesterday, showed that Ireland was one of only 33 out of a total of 185 countries to have complied fully with laws in place to end human trafficking – making it a ‘tier one’ country – there was some dissatisfaction raised with the implementation of anti-trafficking laws in this country.

Writing for TheJournal.ie today, human trafficking campaigner David Lohan says there needs to be more awareness within Irish communities of the issue of human trafficking and a more deeper understanding of how it affects people.

“Awareness is a key element in tackling this, and other, abuses perpetrated against the person,” he says. “However, awareness cannot be premised on misunderstandings. It demands real understanding of what is done by traffickers, why it is done and how they benefit.”

The State Department’s Trafficking in Persons Report found that while Ireland was rated as a tier one country there were instances where women from Estonia and Hungary were trafficked to Ireland for the purposes of prostitution.

Most significantly it cited reports from non-governmental organisation (NGO) experts who said that children are being subjected to prostitution in places such as Dublin, Cork and Kilkenny.

It noted that the State has yet to fully prosecute and convict any trafficking offenders as defined by the 2008 anti-human trafficking legislation but it said that the government “complies with all minimum standards of elimination of trafficking”.

The legislation, introduced by former Justice Minister Michael McDowell and which came into force in June 2008, created separate offences including trafficking in children for the purpose of labour or sexual exploitation.

The report urged Ireland to “vigorously implement” the law as well as consider drafting an amendment to criminalise forced labour and other forms of compelled service.

The State Department said that while the government had identified no cases where human trafficking victims had been deported from Ireland or had been deported in cases where they had committed unlawful acts there were concerns from NGOs that “unidentified victims may have been inadvertently deported or punished for crimes committed while under coercive control of their traffickers.”

Read-me: Think about sex trafficking. Do Irish people come to mind?

Read: Up to 27 million people are living in slavery, says US report

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Comments (19 Comments)

  • Where is the evidence? Who are these NGOs who are alleging child prostitution in Dublin, Cork and Kilkenny? The whole thing smacks of hysteria to me without any hard facts to back it up. Earlier this month there was a joint Garda/PSNI operation which saw raids on brothels across the country. Were hundreds of trafficked women released from their captivity at the hands of violent pimps? No. The Gardai said (according to a Sunday Independent report) “that despite claims about organised prostitution rings, all the young prostitutes who were subject to raids and searches in more than 100 locations in the Republic were working independently. Only eight people, seven young women and a man in his forties, were arrested. They were released without charge”.

    Reply
    • The report just say’s NGO’s. There was one prosecution of a Nigerian woman who was prostituting a 16 year old girl and as a result got a 4 year sentence.

      Reply
    • Rob 21/06/12 #

      There is no evidence. These NGO’s exaggerate any facts to bolster their politically motivated campaign to criminalize one gender over another. In other words, feminists want gender profiling written into Irish law.

      Reply
  • For all the Fine Gael/Labour government’s talk about child protection- nothing is being done and we can’t blame the Church on this on-
    Child abuse is still taking place and the government is no closer to ending the issue that is taking place in this day and age- we can’t blame the Church on this one.

    Reply
  • The US report does not actually mention Ireland at all except to mark it on a map and list it as a Tier one country. Everything else would appear to be a wild guess at best.

    Reply
    • Jon West 21/06/12 #

      Hmm……….don’t know about that …. this is what it DOES say on
      from link provided above

      “Ireland is a destination, source, and transit country for women,
      men, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor.
      Sex trafficking victims originate in Eastern Europe, African
      countries including Nigeria, South America, and Asia. Adult
      labor trafficking victims are reportedly from South America,
      Eastern Europe, Asia, and Africa. Forced labor victims are
      found in domestic service and restaurant work. According to
      local reporting, within the last several years some victims have
      been subjected to domestic servitude by foreign diplomats on
      assignment in Ireland. According to NGO experts, children are
      subjected to prostitution in various cities in Ireland, including
      Kilkenny, Cork, and Dublin.
      The Government of Ireland fully complies with the minimum
      standards for the elimination of trafficking. The government
      took important steps to investigate and prevent domestic
      servitude among employees of diplomats posted in Ireland.
      During the year, the government prosecuted and convicted a
      sex trafficker for the prostitution of a minor. The government,
      however, has yet to fully prosecute and convict any trafficking
      offenders, as defined by international standards using the
      country’s 2008 anti-trafficking law. The government developed
      victim-centered care plans for many trafficking victims,
      provided holistic care through the provision of temporary
      residency permits and associated services, and continued to
      provide funding to NGOs that provided specialized assistance
      to trafficking victims. All identified victims received services
      regardless of immigration status. However, the majority of
      trafficking victims from non-EU countries received services
      and pursued refugee status through Ireland’s asylum process,
      which NGOs criticize as resulting in inadequate care and
      insufficient protection of victims’ rights, in comparison to
      the provisions specific to trafficking victims.

      Recommendations for Ireland: Vigorously implement
      Ireland’s 2008 anti-trafficking law to ensure labor and sex
      trafficking offenders are held accountable; consider drafting
      an amendment to explicitly criminalize forced labor and
      other forms of compelled service with a view toward increasing
      efforts to implement the 2008 anti-trafficking law; explore
      and enhance NGOs’ roles in the victim identification process;
      ensure proactive screening for trafficking during asylum intake
      interviews; ensure all potential trafficking victims, regardless
      of immigration status, are afforded an official recovery and
      reflection period to make an informed decision about whether
      to assist law enforcement; ensure asylum-seeking trafficking
      victims who are cooperating with law enforcement have
      accurate information on the support they may qualify for
      under Ireland’s explicit provisions for trafficking victims, and
      ensure they are aware this is an option they can pursue; expand
      legal aid beyond representation during trials for victims
      assisting law enforcement; continue educating potential clients
      of prostitution about the linkage between prostitution and
      trafficking; and consider establishing a national anti-trafficking
      rapporteur or similar entity to encourage more self-critical
      assessments to improve law enforcement and victim protection ….”

      Reply
    • Rob 21/06/12 #

      @ Eileen Lang

      Exactly. This report had input from feminist NGO’s whose research is unreliable because it fails to properly define what ”forced” means.

      The proof is here:

      ”Most significantly it cited reports from non-governmental organisation (NGO) experts who said that children are being subjected to prostitution in places such as Dublin, Cork and Kilkenny”

      Reply
  • Penalise the clients.
    Problem solved.

    Reply
  • Rob 21/06/12 #

    While it is true some women are coerced into prostitution, that holds no bearing on the women who did choose. The coercion itself should be illegal, but we should not take away the choice from those who would like to make it.

    Reply
    • http://www.turnofftheredlight.ie/learn-more/the-situation-in-other-countries/ Former mayor of Amsterdam Job Cohen has stated: “We realise that this is no longer about small-scale entrepreneurs, but that big crime organisations are involved,” he said “It’s about trafficking women, it’s about drugs and it’s about killings. In 2008, a report was produced saying that of Amsterdam’s 8,000 to 11,000 prostitutes, 75 per cent were foreigners, mainly from Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia. The national police force (KLPD) estimates that 50% to 90% of the women in licensed prostitution ‘work involuntary’. This would mean that in Amsterdam, there are at least 4,000 victims of trafficking on yearly basis. CHOICE?

      Reply
  • Kilkenny-the new Amsterdam.

    Reply
    • Keith 21/06/12 #

      The gardai are to busy going after the real criminals in the country in there eyes,the ones who grow some marijuana where they can make an easy arrest and get there name in the local paper while jumping up the ladder in the gardai,this country is a joke..

      Reply
  • I think it is worth noting one facts
    Having sex with someone under 17 is illegal in Ireland.
    So if you are caught paying for sex of someone under 17 it is a crime therefore linking it to the wider “criminalize the client” argument is pointless as it is already a crime.

    If you true (and I doubt it) all it shows is laws dont work when it comes to people’s morals

    Reply

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