Politicians are under pressure to pass stricter laws against sex trafficking.
Politicians are under increasing pressure to
introduce laws to target buyers of sex in the new Dail (Parliament)
term that starts next week.
The
Immigrant Council of Ireland stepped up its campaign this week aimed at
strengthening laws to reduce pimping and sex-trafficking.
The
council, one of 68 member organisations of the Turn Off the Red Light
Campaign, has argued that pimps are pocketing millions of euro from
trafficking and prostitution.
The council said this has continued while politicians considered changing the law.
Denise
Charlton, Immigrant Council chief executive, said in a statement on
Sunday that a 15-month review by the Department of Justice prompted
countless media debates, more than 800 written submissions, six months
of hearings and unanimous recommendations by the Justice Committee
formed of TDs (members of Parliament) and senators.
“However,
the reality is pimps and sex-traffickers are as free to go about their
criminal activity today as they were a year and a half ago,” Charlton
said.
“We would like all political
parties to use the return of the Dail and Senate to act and send a
strong message to organized crime gangs that their time is running out.
The debate cannot continue forever.”
Nusha
Yonkova, Immigrant Council anti-trafficking coordinator, said the
publication of the Justice Committee recommendations more than two
months ago was a milestone for the campaign, but had no impact on
organised crime.
She said, “It is vital
our lawmakers move to the next stage. Some 15 months since the
government initially announced the review of the laws on prostitution
800 women are still for sale online in Ireland every day while 19
children were discovered in Irish ‘commercial sex’ during 2012.
“The
case for action is compelling and in the weeks ahead we will fully
engage with all political parties to encourage them to act.”
The
stepped-up campaign follows a recent report on a review of the
legislation on prostitution in Ireland by the Justice Committee.
It
recommended that provision should be made in law to penalise the
purchase of sexual services. The committee also recommended
clarification that no offense was committed by the person whose sexual
services were sold.
Committee chairman,
TD David Stanton, said there was persuasive evidence on the reduction of
demand for prostitution in Sweden since the introduction there of the
ban on buying sex in 1999.
His committee
concluded that such a reduction in demand would lessen the incidence of
harms associated with prostitution and -- particularly in view of the
predominance of migrant women in prostitution in Ireland -- the economic
basis for human trafficking into the state for sexual exploitation.
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