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Globalisation, Sex Trafficking and Prostitution 0 1 R E T P A H C GLOBALISATION, SEX TRAFFICKING AND PROSTITUTION: THE EXPERIENCES OF MIGRANT WOMEN IN IRELAND The Immigrant Council of Ireland in collaboration with the Women’s Health Project (HSE) and Ruhama 99 Written by: kelleherassociates in association with Monica O’Connor and Jane Pillinger Allihies Beara Co Cork Telephone: +353 27 73344 Email: [email protected] Published by: Immigrant Council of Ireland 2 St. Andrew Street Dublin 2, Ireland Information & Referral Service: Telephone: +353 1 6740200 Admin: Telephone +353 1 6740202 / Email: [email protected] Website: www.immigrantcouncil.ie Funded by: Religious Sisters of Charity Edited by: Colleen McFadyen and Aoife Collins Designed by: Dermot O’Connor & Associates Ltd. Cover Photographs: Derek Speirs Printed by: Impress Printing Works ISBN: 978-0-9545496-8-8 Copyright © 2009. Immigrant Council of Ireland No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval systems without permission from the publisher except for brief quotations used in critical reviews. The information in this publication is provided in good faith and every effort is made to ensure that it is accurate and up to date. The Immigrant Council of Ireland (ICI) disclaims any responsibility for errors and omissions in the text. Any person relying upon this publication or using it in connection with any legal matter shall be deemed to have accepted these terms of use and shall not hold the ICI liable for the use or misuse of this publication or of any of the information contained therein. ii About the Authors Patricia Kelleher has a PhD in Sociology from University College Dublin and was a Research Fellow at the Centre of European Studies, Harvard University. She is currently an Adjunct Senior Lecturer in the Department of Sociology at the University of Limerick. With Carmel Kelleher, in 1987 she established research consultancy firm kelleherassociates. Her interests include: class, social exclusion and poverty; masculinities; violence against women; and community planning, policy formulation and strategic planning. Monica O’Connor has more than 20 years experience working in the area of violence against women. She worked in a crisis refuge for abused women and children for seven years. She then became a social policy analyst and trainer in Women’s Aid. She was a member of the Task Force on Violence against Women, which was established by the Irish Government and reported in 1997. In 1997 she was appointed as the Irish expert to the European Women’s Lobby Observatory on Violence against Women. She is currently an independent consultant in the areas of research, policy development and training. She has published extensively in the area of violence against women. Her recent work addresses issues relating to the trafficking of women migrants. Carmel Kelleher has an M. Soc Sc from University College Dublin. Prior to co- establishing kelleherassociates in 1987 with Patricia Kelleher, she worked in the Agricultural Research Institute as a Senior Research Officer. Over a 20-year period, she published significant articles on rural development and underdevelopment, and on the marginalisation of small family farms. Her current research interests include: class and inequality, philosophy of science, social change, violence against women and disadvantaged youth. Jane Pillinger has a PhD in European Social Policy from the Department of Social Policy and Sociology, University of Leeds. She is an independent social policy analyst and a Fellow with the Centre for Care Values (CAVA) Research Centre, Department of Social Policy and Sociology, University of Leeds. She is researcher and policy adviser to: the Council of Europe; the International Labour Organization; the International Organization for Migration; Public Services International; the European Commission; the European Parliament; the Economic and Social Committee; the European Trade Union Confederation; various national, European and international trade union organisations; and the social partners and government departments in a variety of developed and developing countries (the Philippines, Kenya, Taiwan, South Africa, Namibia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland, Cyprus, Romania and Moldova). iii iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword 1 ICI Trafficking Research Advisory Committee 3 Message from Research Partners 5 Acknowledgements 7 INTRODUCTION 9 Context of study 11 Research objectives 12 Focus of study 13 Ethical considerations 13 Research components 14 Outline of report 17 MAIN FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 19 Summary of main findings 21 Recommendations 25 Chapter 1: SETTING THE CONTEXT: MIGRATION, TRAFFICKING AND PROSTITUTION 33 Introduction 35 The gendered dimension of migration 35 Male demand 39 Perspectives on prostitution 40 Prostitution: the Irish context 43 Summary and conclusions 48 Chapter 2: TRAFFICKING FOR SEXUAL EXPLOITATION 51 Introduction 53 Profile of women trafficked into and through Ireland 55 Conducive environments giving rise to trafficking 59 Recruitment methods 61 Different trafficking strategies 63 Children 66 Routes 67 Control strategies 68 Escape and rescue 71 v Service provision 74 Summary and conclusions 76 Chapter 3: THE IRISH SEX INDUSTRY AND INDOOR PROSTITUTION 79 Introduction 81 The proliferation of the sex industry: sex shops and lap-dancing clubs 82 Indoor prostitution 83 Female emigration and prostitution 84 Buying sex on the internet 88 Male demand and profile of men who buy sex 90 The experiences of women in prostitution 95 Health consequences and harm experienced 104 Summary and conclusions 109 Chapter 4: INTERNATIONAL INSTRUMENTS, IRISH LEGISLATION AND MEASURES TO COMBAT TRAFFICKING 113 Introduction 115 International instruments 115 Trafficking, gender equality and gender-based violence 119 Irish legislation and enforcement 121 Irish measures to combat trafficking 124 Summary and conclusions 133 Chapter 5: PROSTITUTION AND TRAFFICKING: INTERNATIONAL PRACTICE 137 Introduction 139 Protective environment for disclosure and identification 139 Support services 142 Exit routes for women engaged in prostitution 146 Inter-agency strategies 147 Legal status 148 Safe return of migrant women 151 Legislation and tackling demand 153 Prevention 156 Compensation 156 Summary and conclusions 157 CONCLUDING REMARKS 159 vi BIBLIOGRAPHY 163 APPENDICES 175 Appendix A: Countries of origin, as measured by the extent of reporting of trafficking 177 Appendix B: Countries of destination, as measured by the extent of reporting of trafficking 179 Appendix C: Summary of main data sources 181 Appendix D: Indicators for the identification of victims of trafficking 183 Appendix E: Guidelines for qualitative interviews with women 185 Appendix F: Form: Health data on migrant women in prostitution in Ireland (2007) 187 Appendix G: Form: Women who have been trafficked for the purpose of prostitution into and through Ireland (January 2007 - September 2008) 189 Appendix H: The Nordic-Baltic project: good practice approach in country cooperation 193 vii viii FOREWORD D R Trafficking of women and girls for the purposes of sexual exploitation is a A modern, global form of slavery that until recently, we in Ireland thought was an appalling crime that happened somewhere else. Some of us might still like to W E hold on to the idea that it is not really happening here, that women and girls are R not being exploited for profit in Ireland, by Irish people. They are. O In August 2007, to address the lack of knowledge about the extent of trafficking F of women and girls into and through this country, the Immigrant Council of Ireland commissioned research designed to map the extent of Ireland’s sex industry and to uncover the scale of exploitation of women and girls. The result is this report, “Globalisation, Sex Trafficking and Prostitution – The Experiences of Migrant Women in Ireland”. This report uncovers the shocking reality of rape, abuse and sexual exploitation that victims of sex trafficking experience in this country. It documents, through interviews with women and examination of data and information from service providers, the physical, emotional and psychological harm these women and girls experience. “Globalisation, Sex Trafficking and Prostitution – The Experiences of Migrant Women in Ireland” reveals that, over a 21-month period in 2007-08, 102 women and girls presented at services who, using the internationally agreed definition, are considered victims of trafficking. Of these, 11 were children at the time they were trafficked. We also know that they are a fraction of the real number of victims of trafficking in this country. They are the ones who were rescued or escaped from their traffickers and pimps. The research also documents the widespread sexual exploitation of migrant women in Ireland’s sex industry. The sex industry in this country has undergone significant changes in recent times, moving off the streets and into apartments and houses with women and girls being provided to men who access prostitution via the internet or their mobile phones. The overwhelming majority of the women involved are migrant women. Some may question why we looked at the broader issue of prostitution in a research project aiming to examine the extent of trafficking of women and girls. The reason is because there is no clear line between where the elements of trafficking end and “consent” to become involved in the sex industry begins. Many of the
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