An important and opportune forum is how Sarah Benson, CEO of Ruhama,
described the Cross Border Forum on Human Trafficking which she
addressed on 16th October in Newry, Co Down.
She began her presentation by thanking Minister Alan Shatter and Minister David Ford for hosting the event.
“A collaborative effort to engage, share and act to prevent
trafficking across the island of Ireland is not just welcome, but
critical,” she said.
The Ministers were united in promoting the message that partnership is key in fight against human trafficking.
Sarah Benson explained that Ruhama has been working with women
affected by prostitution for nearly two and a half decades but
encountered its first international victim of trafficking in the year
2000.
Since then the organisation has worked with over 300 suspected victims and of them 160 were new referrals in the last six years.
Sarah Benson said that initially when her organisation began
responding to sex trafficking, most of the victims were Eastern
European.
Later, there people from further afield and particularly from African
countries. “This is truly a global phenomenon and in 2011 alone we
worked with victims of trafficking from 20 different countries,” she
said.
She highlighted other facts such as the inextricable connection
between sex trafficking and prostitution – sex trafficking occurs
because of the existence of organised prostitution.
The methods that are used to hold victims are not always as overt as
people may expect.
Some victims may have their papers or be given small
amounts of money but are often threatened and subjected to debt bondage.
“Victims are told they won’t be believed, that they will be
criminalised and perhaps jailed or deported. They are told that the
trafficker has friends in the police and that the best thing is to stay
put and get on with it – and many do. Often they have no contacts beyond
those in the brothel; limited or no English; no money and feel that
they have no options but to stay,” Sarah Benson explained.
In terms of what can be done to combat trafficking, she said it is
important to spread awareness of services and rights to the people who
have been trafficked.
Likewise things should not be taken at face value as often it can
take a long time to identify that someone is a victim of trafficking – a
person in prostitution may be a potential victim whose plight could be
quite easily overlooked.
Positive measures are being taken to shift focus from those in
prostitution as potential offenders to vulnerable persons who may even
by trafficking victims.
Ruhama is one of a number of NGOs helping the Garda Siochana with
in-service training on trafficking.
This training is delivered by both
Gardaí experienced in investigating organised prostitution, Ruhama
trainers and an anti trafficking consultant who is a retired member of
the force.
The course is now delivered twice annually to frontline Gardai
(including some PNSI officers).
It is about to be extended to some of
the Garda Training staff in Templemore and there are discussions to
adapt it for senior Garda personnel.
“While there are still situations where we regret to see women being
criminalized, as service providers have noted an incremental shift
whereby the number of referrals to our own services from various Garda
stations across the country ..increased,” said Sarah Benson.
She spoke of the growing importance of following the money and
technological trails.
She also reiterated the point that the sex trade
and sex trafficking would not exist without the sex buyers so these must
also be targeted.