Madam, - I wish to draw your readers' attention to a very important distinction between people "smuggling" and people "trafficking". Facilitating the commission of a breach of immigration law by an individual is smuggling. Even though it constitutes a breach of the law, it can be done for honourable purposes.
Trafficking, by definition, entails coercion and exploitation, which continues after the victim arrives at his or her final destination. The primary purpose of trafficking is sexual exploitation for profit.
Victims are controlled by their traffickers, and are extremely vulnerable to violence at the hands of the traffickers, pimps and clients.
In combating trafficking, the role of the media in raising public awareness of this abuse is vital, and it is important that it carefully and accurately portrays what trafficking actually means. - Yours, etc,
FIONA CROWLEY, Research and Legal Manager, Amnesty International, Irish section, Dublin 2.