Human Trafficking in Northern Ireland

JUSTICE minister David Ford has announced plans to introduce two new human trafficking offences in Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland has the fastest growing sex industry of all parts of the UK. The PSNI have reportedly identified 26 potential victims since April 2011 and last week saw the first human trafficking conviction in a Northern Ireland court.

Helen McCormick from the Northern Ireland Council for Ethnic Minorities believes the reason for the rapid growth could be the toughening of laws in the Republic of Ireland: “We know from talking to other NGOs in the south that as their legislative processes move on, it could displace the problem to Northern Ireland."

Mr. Ford told the Assembly the aim is to bring Northern Ireland in line with a new EU directive on human trafficking and to strengthen the overall legislation in the region.

“I am committed to doing all I can to tackle this wicked crime,” said Ford.

The first proposed offence would mean UK nationals involved in human trafficking could be prosecuted anywhere in the world. The second would be specifically to deal with those trafficking citizens within the UK.

"Northern Ireland society should not be ignorant to the fact that trafficking is going on in every part of our community. I therefore welcome the spotlight that is being shone on human trafficking,” added Ford.

"This is rape for profit. This is a high-yield, low-risk crime," said David McIlveen of the DUP.

The same zero-tolerance attitude was echoed by members of the other main political parties, "We need to put these people away, we need to give them long prison sentences and we need to make sure that a strong message is sent out that it is totally unacceptable, it's a vile crime," said Sinn Fein’s Jennifer McCann.

The new EU directive will involve further training for law enforcement in this field, awareness campaigns and the penalty for traffickers will be extended to 10 years. There will also be a recognised definition of what should be considered trafficking and participating member states must implement all rules into national legislation within the next two years.

Domestic Violence Victims Advised to Sleep in Occupy Camps Due to Cuts

 VICTIMS of domestic violence in the UK are being forced to sleep in police stations, Occupy camps and hospital waiting rooms, according to leading domestic violence charities.

A new report has revealed that 31% of funding to the sector was cut by local authorities last year, a reduction from £7.8million to £5.4million.

The most recent PSNI statistics, from April 2010 to March 2011, show there were over 23,000 incidents and over 9,000 recorded crimes with a domestic motivation, while it is estimated that there are over 32,000 children living with domestic violence here, according to Patrician Lyness, management coordinator of Belfast and Lisburn Women’s Aid.

"We used to have a situation where we couldn't quickly place someone in emergency accommodation perhaps once a month. Now it's happening two to three times a week," said Heather Harvey, research and development manager of London-based domestic violence charity Eaves.

"All you can say to them is if you sleep on the street, here are some ways of staying safe, but of course there have been reports of rape at an Occupy Camp in Glasgow, so it is only displacing the burden. Someone has to pick up the human and economic cost further down the line," added Harvey.

"Every area is being hit, and if all routes to safety are being cut back I believe we will see more tragedies, more homicides and lots more women and children living in violent situations.” said Nicola Harwin, chief executive of Women’s Aid.

"I am deeply concerned about this - it is putting women and children in danger and we risk turning back the clock on the important work that has been done to prevent women being put in life-

threatening situations," said shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper.

"These are tough times and everyone is dealing with cuts, but this coalition government has sent out a very clear message about the importance and value it places on this sector. I would rebut very firmly that the sector is in crisis, this government is putting its best foot forward and is committed to ending violence against women and girls," said Home Office minister for equality Lynne Featherstone.

            The report states that cuts have been uneven across localities in the UK and specific details about Northern Ireland are yet to be confirmed.

Women’s Aid is the largest domestic violence charity in Northern Ireland and its branch for Belfast and Lisburn recently received a £900,000 grant from the Lottery Fund.