Ms Denise Charlton:

I thank the committee for the invitation to speak today. I wish to address a number of points, some of which may respond to questions asked earlier. The Immigrant Council of Ireland is a core member of the Turn Off the Red Light campaign, of which the committee is aware. We are one of 64 robust organisations which represent most counties and sectors in Ireland. We come from very different perspectives and angles to the issue of prostitution and sex trafficking, but what unites us is that we believe if demand for sexual services is tackled by targeting the buyer it will have a real impact. The Immigrant Council of Ireland came to this conclusion in a number of ways. We commissioned robust research which over a 21-month period examined sex trafficking and prostitution in Ireland. It was one of the first studies of its kind in Europe and was conducted by Dr. Pillinger, Dr. Kelleher and Monica O'Connor. I hope the committee will invite them to present their findings.

What also motivates us as a human rights organisation is that we challenge the notion that prostitution is a harmless transaction between consenting adults. Survivors of prostitution are at the core of the Turn off the Red Light campaign and some committee members heard their remarks in the Oireachtas a number of weeks ago. When they described their experience they left us in no doubt of the violence that underpins prostitution and sex trafficking. We have a particular lens on human trafficking as a migrants rights organisation concerned with the migration process, and we were delighted earlier this year when the US President, Barack Obama, highlighted it as modern-day slavery. He is prepared to apply the full resources of the US Federal Government to combat the problem.

Trafficking for sexual exploitation is the biggest human trafficking phenomenon in Ireland and throughout Europe. In our research we identified 102 cases, but these are only the cases that have come to our attention. They tell horrifying stories of which committee members are aware, such as that some of the women with whom we have worked did not even know they were in Ireland, never mind whether they were in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Portlaoise, Letterkenny or any other town or city. There is a demand for child trafficking in Ireland and we have seen evidence of it as 11 of the 102 cases involved minors and 29 child trafficking cases have been identified by the Irish State. Some media reports on high-profile cases uncovered child victims of trafficking. The sex trade allows and facilitates child trafficking, for which there is a demand in Ireland. This provides a reason for the legal change.

There is much discussion about voluntary prostitution. One cannot talk about sex trafficking unless one takes a stance on prostitution. Within the sex industry are varying views and voices, and all voices should be listened to and respected, but we must be very clear that one cannot confuse the fact that a minority of women have independence and agency within the sex industry with the fact that the average age of entry is appallingly low. Children do not have a choice to consent and the average age of entry into prostitution is 14. We cannot avoid the fact that the majority of women enter prostitution because of poverty, child abuse, gender-based violence, war or broken promises of a better life after having had few choices in their own country.

I wish to discuss the link between prostitution, the sex trade and organised crime. Somebody asked earlier about research into the amount of money being made out of prostitution in the black economy. Based on our research, we estimated a figure of approximately €180 million, while the Criminal Assets Bureau has a figure of approximately €250 million for organised crime in Ireland. One does not have to take our word for it; as part of an independent investigation for "Prime Time", the journalist Paul Maguire tracked women and saw how they were moved at high speed from one area of the country to another, that mobile phones were bought in bulk, and that few of the women even knew they were in Ireland. Paul Connolly of TV3 also had a programme that looked at how vice gangs use force to keep women under control. In the Linnane case the women were filmed and were allowed to use only one baby wipe per customer. There is a high level of control in prostitution and the sex trade. All of this confirms what survivors and the women who access our services tell us.

We have had a conversation on whether the law is fit for purpose. It was developed at a time when women were on the streets selling sex. It is now a multi-million-euro industry which has gone online. Earlier we spoke about whether the Swedish law has sent prostitution underground. Prostitution has gone onto the Internet in every country regardless of the legal context. The nature of the crime means it must be accessible so that punters can find the women. The law in Ireland is not fit for purpose. We have had minimal prosecutions and very few women and victims have been identified as having been trafficked. We have two legal options. Many of us have visited the Netherlands, where it was decided to legalise the commercial exploitation of prostitution in 2000. Between 50% and 90% of women in prostitution do not want to be there and were forced into the industry against their will, according to the Dutch police. A total of 50% of brothel managers have a criminal record and it is now the hub of human trafficking. Ten years after the decision to legalise prostitution, an independent evaluation was carried out which showed the welfare of women in prostitution was worse on all measured health indicators. It was also clear from the independent evaluation that one cannot separate legal adult prostitution from child trafficking, illegal prostitution or criminal gangs. Twelve years after the law was changed in Sweden, 250 prostitutes are for sale on the Internet in that country, which has a population of 9.5 million. In Ireland, a thousand women are for sale in a population of 4.5 million. Amsterdam has approximately 2,500 legal brothels. The law in Sweden was introduced against much public opinion and now it enjoys 80% support.

The Turn Off the Red Light campaign includes people who represent every county and sector in Irish society. We are nurses, doctors, human rights organisations, farmers, trade unionists and survivors and we are all asking for the law to be changed. Eighty public representatives support us and nine local authorities have passed motions advocating the change we seek. We believe if one wants to change the exploitation, rape and violence which occurs in the sex trade in Ireland today and stop child trafficking, one must target the buyer. It has worked in other jurisdictions and we believe firmly that it will work here.