I’m a final year journalism student at Technological University Dublin. I opted for the magazine project, as I studied cultural journalism in Utrecht, HU of applied sciences, where I found a keen interest covering cultural stories. I contributed to discussions regarding the layout of the cover image and editor's note. I did makeup for two models for the magazine photoshoot and contacted Maze Dublin to create a partnership for clothing included in the photoshoot. During my Erasmus I covered a story around sex work in Czech Republic. When I arrived back to Dublin, I found myself quite curious about how sex work operates in Dublin. From there, I uncovered the poor supports in place for sex trafficking victims in Ireland and believed it was essential to tell this story so they can also be aware of the human trafficking underground in Ireland.
Sex Trafficking victims aren’t safe, René Melia reports.
Nigeria is the biggest supplier of human trafficking victims for sexual exploitation in Ireland, according to Sr Eilís Coe of the Religious Sisters of Charity, and board member of ‘Religious in Europe Network Against Trafficking and Exploitation’.
As *Lisa walked down O’Connell Street she caught eye with her former trafficker. He walked towards her, and a mere inch from her face said, ‘Are you still alive?’.
Human traffickers prey on the beliefs of west African victims. Before bringing them to Ireland, the traffickers, many of whom (like the women) are Nigerian, take the victims to a traditional shrine and make them swear to never tell who their trafficker is.
Indigenous people from west Africa have a strong belief in sprits; it comes from their blend of Christianity and native traditional belief systems.
Pieces of the victim’s hair and nails are cut to reinforce the belief that the trafficker has a power over the victim through the shrine. *Lisa’s trafficker attempted to instill fear into her through her spiritual beliefs.
“You cannot overestimate the power of belief in spirits,” said Sr Eilís. “Victims have told me deadpan in the face, ‘These traffickers can come to Ireland at night to harm us.’” She explained that she asked the women if they meant that the traffickers were flying in on late flights to Dublin airport. They told her, ‘No. They have the power to fly at night and they fly here from Nigeria to harm us’.
Evidence of human trafficking in the Republic of Ireland is estimated to be 38% higher than the official figure which means that there is an increase of 132 victims in top of the official count of 346 over a six year period, according to a 2021 report by Mary Immaculate College in Limerick.
The human trafficking conviction rate in Ireland is extremely low. Only three people have been convicted in the last decade.
Victims are sometimes face-to-face with their former traffickers in Direct Provision centers, said Sr Eilís: “Who knows who a trafficker is? Nobody. Only the victims know their faces.”
She continued to explain that a trafficker will seek refuge and be placed into Direct Provision centers. “Human traffickers might be perverse enough to know that they can find victims in these places,” said Sr Eilís.
Human traffickers within Direct Provision centers may force victims into street prostitution. If the victim does not comply, the trafficker threatens the safety of family members of the victims, who remain in their native country – the trafficker can do this because they have connections within the country of origin.
Women who have been or are subjected to sex trafficking in Direct Provision centers will not go to the authorities or NGOs to report their former or current trafficker. If they do point them out, the trafficker will find out who made the report and threaten them.
“It really is a dangerous and vicious underground. It’s a minefield...What do the Irish Government do in the face of that?” asked Sr Eilís.
In November, Minister for Justice Helen McEntee launched the third national action plan to prevent and combat human trafficking in Ireland. The plan addressed the urgent reform of the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) which enables state and civil society to co-operate, share information about potential victims, identify those victims and faciliate their access to advice, accommodation and support.
A new NRM, according to the plan, will look to make it easier for victims to come forward, be identified and access support. The plan seeks to widen the range of support services that victims can go to other than An Garda Síochána.
The Nigerian public have a negative perception of policing, which is caused by the failure of the police force there to obey laws themselves according to a report conducted in 2020 by Ignatius Hua Nyam ‘A Critical Analysis of the Public Perception of the Nigerian Police Force’.
The report also stated that the Nigerian police failed to use rules and procedures that are fair to all members of the public and that police failed to explain their reasons for taking actions against people, which causes distrust between officers and citizens.
This mistrust may be carried over to An Garda Síochána when victims are faced with officers. “They’re terrified of the police because their traffickers have told them ‘do not talk to any one else because they will just take you back on the plane,” said SR Eilís.
She explained that the women wouldn’t want to return home in fear of shame. A report in 2021 by the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) Country Guidance Nigeria states that ‘unsuccessful’ victims who returned home to their families and communities had various responses: either welcomed or in other cases physically attacked, mocked insulted or bullied by family or community members.
The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission recognised a ‘significant gap’ in the protection and care of victims related to human trafficking in Ireland and highlighted the need for appropriate accommodation for victims.
Whilst working in Ruhama, Ireland’s leading NGO that provides nationwide support to women impacted in prostitution, sex trafficking and other forms of commercial sexual exploitation, Sr EILÍS used a method known as ‘bibliotherapy’. The ‘Book therapy’ helps women affected by sex trafficking. The purpose of book therapy is to help a person make sense of and understand their personal suffering through reading a book about a similar experience. Sr Eilís used book therapy slightly differently, she helped the women in Ruhama familiarise herself geographically within Ireland.
“If the novel is based in Dublin and it says the Luas, GPO, O'Connell Bridge, the Spire and Grafton Street, that’s familiarising them. It’s orientation to their city through the novel. These women don’t know where they are.
“They got on a plane in one country, they were carefully guarded and came to another. They think Ireland is a big country and Nigeria is very small,” she explained.
Nothing is small about Benin City. The capital and largest city of Edo State, Southern Nigeria. It is also known as the city of prostitution among Nigerian people, according to Sr Eilís. The city is overcrowded, and many people live in extreme poverty.
In Edo State, sex trafficking in itself is not perceived negatively by the public. Trafficked persons may not recognise themselves as victims, and they may not fully understand how long the exploitation will last or the exact amount of debt they’ll need to repay, according to an EUAA’s report from 2021.
According to Sr Eilís, when she asked some trafficked women what they thought of Ireland, they said, “Ireland is paradise”. Sr Eilís continued, “In Nigeria, as we are talking, there are girls who seek out traffickers who will take them to Ireland”.
Victims may also remain in Ireland because back home they may have been abused, lived in poverty, or are subjecr to danger, said Sr Eilís.
Many people in lower socio-economic circumstances of Benin City consider having a family member abroad to be the sole means to achieve social mobility, according to EUAA’s report sometimes victims don’t really tell what happened to them, and since they are afraid to be seen as a failure back home, they decide to stay in Ireland.
“One of our young sisters from Nigera told me that a neighbour came to her mother and said, ‘my two daughters are in Europe earning a lot of money. They’re sending the money over to me and doing very well. They’re in prostitution in Rome, you should send your girls,’” said Sr Eilís.
In 2022, An Garda Síochána identified 42 victims of human trafficking, the majority of whom were trafficked to the country for sexual exploitation.
To tackle the root of human trafficking in Ireland, Sr Eilís suggests that those working close to victims need to understand the culture of where the victims are from. Sr Eilís refers to her idea of a ‘cultural interpreter’.
In Nigeria, the official language is English, and phrases and words have different meanings than in an Irish context. Telling a Nigerian that you’re ‘confused’ refers to struggling with mental health.
“Can you imagine being in a Garda station and somebody says to the girl ‘Are you confused?’ It’s not just language, it’s nuances,” Sr Eilís said. She believes that a cultural interpreter who could explain the background of the victim’s native country could provide greater support.
Every situation a victim experiences is unique.
*Lisa is a fictional name, although the details of Lisa’s story are true.
Story ends...