HUMAN TRAFFICKERS will find Ireland “a very unwelcoming country to pursue their evil trade” according to the Minister for Justice. Dermot Ahern was speaking following the signing into law of the Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act, which will come into force on June 8th.
The Act creates separate offences of trafficking in children for the purpose of their labour exploitation or the removal of their organs; trafficking in children for the purpose of sexual exploitation; and trafficking in adults for the purposes of their sexual or labour exploitation or the removal of their organs.Among the new offences it creates are the selling or purchasing of a child for any purpose.
It also makes it an offence to sell or offer for sale or to purchase or offer to purchase any person for any purpose.
In an attempt to deal with the demand for the victims of trafficking, the Act makes it an offence to solicit or importune a trafficked person for the purpose of prostitution. Unlike existing prostitution offences, this offence can take place in a private as well as a public place, and the trafficked person does not commit an offence.
The Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Bill was published in November of last year, and passed all stages in the Dáil and Seanad by May 1st.
The Act allows for the prosecution of Irish people through the Irish courts for any trafficking offence committed abroad, and any trafficking offence committed against an Irish person, or a person ordinarily resident in Ireland, can also be prosecuted here.
Victims of trafficking will be protected by the holding of court hearings into these offences in camera, by preserving the anonymity of victims and allowing for the giving of evidence through a television link.
In addition, a new Anti-Human Trafficking Unit was set up last February with Marion Walsh as its executive director. It will co-ordinate the State’s response to human trafficking.
The Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill also provides a period of 45 days for victims of trafficking for “reflection and recovery”, and a period of up to six months’ residency in Ireland to allow the person assist the Garda.
Gerardine Rowley, of Ruhama, an organisation working with women trafficked into Ireland, said she looked forward to the Act coming into force next month. “It will support the gardaí in their efforts to police the issue in the country and it has penalties that we welcome because it should act as a deterrent to traffickers.”
Ms Rowley added, however, that to really address the issue of trafficking, the State needs to make adequate statutory provisions that protect and provide safety to the victims of the crime.
“Currently, the Government has not adequately addressed the protection of victims of trafficking . . . There is a void left for women who are victims of trafficking from within the EU,” she said. “International evidence shows that we need to offer protection because the more victims feel trust, the better they will be able to disclose their problems . . . There is a danger that if we don’t support them, they may be retrafficked.”
Minister for Integration Conor Lenihan welcomed the enactment of the laws against modern-day slavery. “Having previously worked in the area of human rights, I have a particular interest in this matter and I am delighted that this Act has now been passed.
“The trafficking of individuals is a terrible and heinous crime and this Act conveys the important message that this type of modern slavery can and will not be tolerated,” he said.