‘Number of children being trafficked here is underestimated’

Last year, more than 7,000 children were identified as victims of trafficking through the UK’s national referral mechanism.

In comparison, just five child trafficking victims were identified in Ireland.

Organisations working in the area believe the current system, where only gardaí can identify victims of trafficking, places Ireland at a disadvantage when trying to ascertain an accurate reflection of the level of human trafficking here.

The theme of this year’s World Day Against Human Trafficking is ‘Leave no child behind in the fight against human trafficking’.

Ireland’s national rapporteur on trafficking, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC), is
preparing its third national evaluation report of the implementation of the EU Anti-Trafficking Directive, to be published in September.

In last year’s report, IHREC highlighted the need for a methodology to collect reliable data on the scale and different forms of exploitation of children.

The director of the sexual exploitation research programme at UCD, Ruth Breslin, agrees with the concerns of IHREC.

“It is indeed the case that children and young people under 18 who are trafficked are often being exploited by someone close to them — this could be a family member or even an older boyfriend,” she said.

Many of these children have faced adversities in their childhoods and may have experienced neglect so when someone shows an interest in them, and perhaps gives them affection, they can feel a sense of love and loyalty to that person.

“Understandably this potential bond they have with their exploiter creates a huge barrier to them firstly recognising and understanding that they are being exploited, and secondly in disclosing this and seeking help.”

She adds: “This is why it is so important that any professional, whose job brings them into contact with children, and vulnerable children in particular, is able to recognise the signs of potential grooming and exploitation and respond accordingly.

“We support IHREC’s position on the real need for a child-specific identification and assistance process for all child victims of trafficking.”

A spokesman for the Department of Justice moved to quell concerns, however, saying that children will be catered for in the new national referral mechanism, which is promised to be operational by year-end.

He said: “The national referral mechanism will be responsible for putting a package of appropriate services in place for each individual, and access to services will depend on need.

“The approach taken in the legislation is to create the national referral mechanism and specify its membership (which will include Tusla, the Child and Family Agency).

“The national referral mechanism will be supported by detailed operational procedures, including in relation to the identification and support of children who are victims of trafficking, with Tusla at the centre of that.

“The legislation provides for a presumption of child status, ensuring that when a victim says that they are under 18, they will be treated as a child and the full suite of child protection mechanisms is engaged from the outset.”

The spokesman described human trafficking is a heinous crime “based on deception and exploitation of vulnerable people”.

He stressed that “combating it is, and will continue to be, a priority for this Government”.

The Department of Justice is providing funding and support for a number of awareness-raising initiatives to support members of the public and professionals in identifying and responding to possible victims of human trafficking.

“All officials working in ports and airports receive training to ensure they are alert to the signs of trafficking and are equipped to react appropriately when they are concerned about any individual.

“This includes ensuring all staff are aware of what to do when they have a concern about a child who has arrived in Ireland,” the spokesman said.

Among the organisations which the department says it funds is MECPATHS, a group that works to raise awareness around the issue of child trafficking, educating frontline and emerging professionals across Ireland on what child trafficking is, how to recognise indicators, and report concerns.

Guidelines to identify victims needed

MECPATHS education manager Ann Mara says it is wonderful that Ireland is one of the first countries in the world to put a national referral mechanism on a legislative footing.

However, she says it would be better to have specific guidelines to identify child victims rather than to “shoehorn” them into the mechanism.

She pointed out that children typically would not self-identify as trafficking victims, partly because their traffickers are known to them and trusted by them.

There are also trafficking cases where children in the care of the State are being targeted.

“These children would never themselves say they are a victim of trafficking because, in their eyes, they are making an informed decision to get into a taxi and go to a hotel room, often because they are getting something in return for what they are doing,” Ms Mara said.

Under Irish and EU law, a person under 18 cannot give consent for sexual encounters.

Extra ambiguity around child victims

Ms Mara said that while there is a lot of ambiguity and misinformation around human trafficking of adults, “it is even more ambiguous when it comes to child victims of trafficking”.

She says the State has identified just 10 child trafficking victims in the past four years, “even though Irish children are consistently showing up in the UK’s national referral mechanism”.

Between six and eight Irish national children are showing up in the UK every year while here we have identified just 10 in the last four years.

“In that same period in the UK, the national referral mechanism has identified 20,000 children.”

She said that MECPATHS wants a timely roll-out of “adequate education and training to support victims identification by Tusla staff” but she is concerned about what agency should oversee the identification of child victims.

She questions how the referral mechanism will “capture trafficking of children that takes place online”.

Ms Mara said there must be clear policy guidelines around age verification of suspected victims, and child-specific assistance measures, resources, organisations, and supports available for child victims of trafficking.

While the number of child victims being detected here in Ireland is low, Ms Mara says: “It is not because we don’t have the issue. It is because we are not identifying the children.

“There is so much more of a concerted effort needed around identification of children.

“What we are hearing on the ground is that the most prolific type of child trafficking in Ireland is trafficking for sexual exploitation and criminal exploitation.

“The average age of children running drugs in this country is between the ages of 8 and 10 and the average age of children selling drugs in this country is between 10 and 12.

“These children are being trafficked for criminal exploitation.”