Trafficking of women for sexual exploitation is going on somewhere in Ireland as you read this

In the sort of operation that doesn’t get the level of praise it deserves, gardaí recently launched raids throughout the country on premises in which suspected organised prostitution is carried out, often by women who are given little or no choice in the matter.

Conor Lally reported that 46 suspected customers were identified. Some of the women involved must pay large sums of money to criminal gangs if they want to break free. But as they accumulate debt to a variety of exploiters, and as the traffickers can keep “increasing” the debt, women can remain in bondage indefinitely.

If you think this is happening only in the cities, you are mistaken. The sexual exploitation of trafficked women happens in every county in Ireland, according to Det Supt Derek Maguire.

Selling sex was decriminalised in 2017 but the organisation of prostitution remains an offence. I thought it impressive that before the raids gardaí texted 400 women in English, Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian to reassure them that they would not be prosecuted. Where did they get the numbers? Simple: they are advertised online.

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The move was part of an international “16 days of activism” period that ran until Human Rights Day on December 10th and was aimed at eliminating violence against women.

A report by the Sexual Exploitation Research Programme (SERP) at University College Dublin shines further light on this exploitation in which unfree women are provided for the pleasure of Irish men.

To trap women in this work, it says, “deception and false promises are very common tactics used by pimps and traffickers, who promise women the opportunity to earn money legitimately, but their intention is always sexual exploitation”.

Others are groomed or forced into prostitution to pay off debts.

And they’re easily exploited. Just over half enter prostitution between the ages of 16 and 24. They often know nothing about the country they are in, especially as they are moved around constantly within Ireland or around Europe.

“And so they become lonely, rootless, and extremely socially isolated. Often finding it difficult to engage with any form of support.” These women are very much on their own, surrounded only by those who wish to exploit them.

The “work” itself is traumatising. They are forced to pretend to have sexual desire that they don’t feel and to meet demands that they find repelling or frightening from customers. If they resist, violence and the threats of violence are used by criminals, pimps, traffickers and buyers alike as a means to control women or ensure that they bend to their will.

Remember, this is going on somewhere in Ireland as you read this.

And it’s not only their pimps or the traffickers who make money out of them. They must pay large sums of money to the websites where they’re advertised and exorbitant rents to landlords who know what is going on, and are only too happy to profit from it.

To meet these costs, they must see as many buyers as they can. And, of course, if they’re in debt, then their chances of getting out of debt are poor.

The UCD report, Confronting the harm, is by Ruth Breslin, Linda Latham and Monica O’Connor. “Many are trapped in the Irish sex trade,” they write of these women, “and extremely socially isolated – prostitution is their primary experience of being in Ireland.”

The sheer frequency with which they have to engage with these men, the customers of the pimps and traffickers, “demanding sex acts that are unwanted, undesired and violating” is damaging to their health.

And whoever is making big money out of this, it’s not the women. As the UCD report says: “Women do not emerge from prostitution in better economic circumstances than when they first started – in fact quite the reverse – they were poor when they entered prostitution and, while they may have managed to support themselves and their families along the way, they are still poor if and when they leave.”

• Padraig O’Morain (Instagram, Twitter: @padraigomorain) is accredited by the Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. His books include Kindfulness, which is a guide to self-compassion; his daily mindfulness reminder is available free by email (pomorain@yahoo.com).