Modern slavery is real with recent statistics uncovering the extent of human trafficking in Northern Ireland.
There are more human slaves in the world today than ever before in history and latest figures show that this
exploitation of human beings is happening in our Northern Irish streets, towns and cities - surrounding us,
hidden from view, is an illegal trade of innocent people.
Men, women and children are bought and sold as if they are nothing more than stock on a supermarket shelf
and with human trafficking being the world’s fastest growing global crime with 29.8 million slaves existing
anonymously in the world today, it’s about time our community was educated about its effects in Northern
Ireland.
Human trafficking is described by the UN as the movement or recruitment of people by deception or force
for the purpose of exploitation
Northern Ireland is a prime transit country for traffickers to transport their victims through, due to its small
airports, road access to the Republic of Ireland and boats that travel to the rest of the UK.
The most shocking recent PSNI research show that Northern Ireland has the biggest growing demand for
prostitution and sexual exploitation in the whole of Europe.
The profit to be made here by exploiting victims is attractive to traffickers and this demand is difficult to
detect due to the secretive nature of human trafficking.
Ian Spiers, who works on the Community Intercultural Programme “Freedom Acts” which educates
communities and key stakeholders about human trafficking and exploitation in Northern Ireland explained
the situation
“Forms of human trafficking that are evident in NI are sexual exploitation, forced labour and child sexual
exploitation,” says Education Officer Ian Spiers at Freedom Acts
“The victims are hidden in private rented accommodation or hotels and are moved around regularly to
avoid suspicion.
These victims have their own free will taken away and can be mentally and physically broken. They are
modern day slaves and are totally controlled by their traffickers, they are treated as human cargo or meat
and they are transported from other countries as well as within Northern Ireland
The traffickers are only interested in the money they make, from the abuse of their victims and are not
in anyway concerned for their welfare.”
The current economic climate in Northern Ireland also allows traffickers to use rented property on
short-term leases without arising suspicion and it is not uncommon for large numbers of people from other
nationalities to share accommodation in areas such as Belfast, making it easy to hide this vicious crime
from the public eye.
Migrant workers who perhaps face a language barrier are often at a bigger risk as they are easily tricked or
forced to work for lower wages, therefore profiting their employers..
Ian Spiers continued to describe passionately about the importance of his work,
“It is important to educate people about human trafficking in order to stop people from becoming victims of
Human Trafficking and to help them get assistance if they have been trafficked and also to make the public
aware of the signs of human trafficking and of how to get assistance for the victims.
By informing people of human trafficking, we can also reduce the demand for sexual exploitation, forced
labour and child sexual exploitation such as grooming.”
Although it may seem unlikely, human trafficking is a humanitarian crisis which involves all of us and
getting involved to help prevent human trafficking can be simple, explains Mr Spiers,
“At Freedom Acts, we have a number of different training packages that can be used, including case studies,
animations, interactive training and powerpoint presentations, all of which can be found on our Freedom
Act’s website.”
Freedom Acts deliver awareness packages to groups and carry out a lot of networking within the community,
to make people aware of what they can offer. Depending on the make up and function of the group, the
training is usually free of charge and people can also become involved by volunteering and becoming an
activist/lobbyist.
“Getting involved can just be as simple as buying fair-trade or ethically produced products” said Mr Spiers
“It will encourage manufacturers to source their products and produce them ethically and to treat their
workers and suppliers fairly and properly.”
Despite educational programmes like Freedom Acts, in a survey conducted by the Ulster Tribune, only 43%
of readers were aware human trafficking existed in Northern Ireland and was something that needs to be
dealt with.
A further 87% did not know if the issue is addressed through education in Northern Ireland.
The Ulster Tribune spoke to locals throughout the province, gaining insight into the population's opinion on
education about Human Trafficking.
“I have links with a number of different schools in different areas and to date, none of them have picked up
on this topic” stated Ashleigh Nicholl (43), a school teacher.
“Even one school in the center of Belfast where human trafficking has been reported in the media has
avoided the topic.”
Jasmine Walls (34) also commented, ”I was not aware this was an issue in our country so I feel there should
be more news surrounding this topic, allowing people to be better informed and hopefully prevent the issue
from growing”
Why is this happening on our streets and more importantly why we are allowing it to happen? It’s time
human trafficking is no longer hidden in our city. It’s time we educate ourselves and our children about
this monstrosity.
human trafficking is no longer hidden in our city. It’s time we educate ourselves and our children about
this monstrosity.
It’s time to finally end human trafficking in Northern Ireland.
Twitter: @_HollyOConnor_
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