At least one woman a fortnight is being trafficked into this State to work in the sex industry,according to Ruhama, the organisation working with women involved in prostitution.
In the past seven years, it has become aware of 216 victims of sex trafficking. Of the 16 women it came in contact with this year, 15 were from Africa.
This indicates a new trend as women from eastern Europe usually account for the majority of trafficked women. However, Ruhama spokeswoman Geraldine Rowley said the decrease should not be interpreted as a decline in trafficking from that region.
She pointed out that most east Europeans no longer needed visas or employment permits to work here so they were less likely to come to the attention of the authorities.
Of the 132 trafficked women that Ruhama helped between 2000 and 2006, 73 per cent came from eastern Europe and 21 per cent from Africa. Some 4 per cent came from South America while 2 per cent came from Asia. "We still believe this is only the tip of the iceberg," Ms Rowley said.
And while sex trafficking is seen as a Dublin issue, Ruhama is increasingly coming in contact with women outside the capital.
All 16 women referred to Ruhama this year were located outside Dublin, compared with 25 per cent of women two years ago.
Ms Rowley said some women had no idea that they were coming here to work in the sex industry and some of them were ritually tortured.
"Many of the women experience severe sexual violence before they are put into prostitution," she said yesterday as Ruhama launched its 2005-2006 biennial report.
In the report, Ruhama director Kathleen Fahy said it was disappointing that Ireland had failed to introduce adequate legislation to tackle sex trafficking, despite having signed various international protocols and conventions.
"Trafficking is well-organised, subtle and brutal and in our view requires a Garda national vice squad to deal with the issue effectively," Ms Fahy said. She called for new legislation to tackle the crime.
The biennial report says that Ruhama is finding it increasingly difficult to make contact with women in prostitution because the trade has moved from the streets to establishments such as massage parlours, brothels and escort agencies. Mobile phones and the internet allow pimps to advertise their businesses out of anonymous apartments.
Ruhama plans to increase efforts to contact women working indoors this year by networking with other agencies, distributing leaflets and using the media to highlight the help it offers.
An estimated 95 per cent of prostitutes who work on the streets are drug users, whom Ruhama describes as "the most marginalised and forgotten of our client group".
The agency contacts these women through its van, a mobile drop-in centre that visits the red-light districts every night. It worked with 89 women on the streets last year, compared with 43 in 2005.
"Their lifestyles are often very chaotic and isolating," the report states. "Many are cut off from their families and have very few support mechanisms."
