Brief Report / MGA re Human Trafficking work in Ireland
November 29, 2014
Report prepared by Mary Ryan rsm
Work with Teacher Organisation.
Over the Summer months when schools were closed Apt ( Act to prevent Human Trafficking) members attended & gave presentations to major gatherings of teachers
One to second level teacher union- To National Chaplain’s Association
- To Religious Education Teachers’ AGM
Members spoke at the National Ploughing Champions where we exhibited & distributed anti-trafficking information literature.
Schools & Colleges & University
As a group we continue to work & raise awareness with 2nd & 3rd level schools & colleges. We support them in their project work by providing relevant resources eg. Books, articles , videos etc
We find each year there is an increased awareness & also a growing interest for factual information.
Re Legislation
As an organisation we lobby our government to improve legislation and to introduce some aspects of the Nordic Model where the client is criminalised and the woman is decriminalised. By doing so the Demand for young trafficked women would be reduced. There are very few convictions against traffickers as the women fear backlash from their pimps & traffickers & do not co-operate readily with police. Our Justice Minister has promised legislation before Christmas so the Debate pro & con has heated up these past two weeks. Sex Workers Ireland (SWI) a small group but extremely vocal are making a lot of noise on how their “human right to work & to earn a living “ is being ignored. This debate is serving to raise public awareness in a way not witnessed before.
European Anti-Trafficking Day.
This European Anti-Trafficking Day on Oct 18th was a great joy for me since for the past three years I had been invited to make a presentation to the students in Maynooth University but this year the students invited me to attend as they themselves presented a talk & video. They also invited a woman who had exited prostitution and is now a final year philosophy student in the University to share her experience. She spoke of the direct link between prostitution & trafficking.
Bishops’ Justice & Peace Commission:
In preparation for Pope Francis’ letter on Human Slavery expected on Jan 1st, the Bishops ‘ commission has asked APT to finalise our Toolkit (including principles of Catholic Social Teaching). This will be presented to each diocese in Jan 2015 . It will be followed by training of Key personnel in each diocese who in turn will present it in various parishes to promote anti-trafficking action and awareness as appropriate. This will keep APT members busy for weeks to come.!
