Dr. Jane Pillinger:

I have also done work with vulnerable women in the Philippines who were trafficked and it is interesting. This is not just global; it is happening within small communities. The issue is very much one of the grooming of young vulnerable women by family members, pimps, networks of local criminals and so on. The vulnerability and disadvantage experienced by so many of the women who come into prostitution, particularly those who do so at a young age, needs to be addressed as a serious issue. It is not a free choice for somebody to come into prostitution because it is the only opportunity for them to earn money as an alternative to drug trafficking or involvement in drugs. It is about ensuring those young women have sustainable exit routes out of prostitution. The research both Ms O'Connor and I did in the dignity project showed this is a multifaceted issue. It is not just about demand; it is also about making sure of the protection for the women, the identification of exploitation and abuse and the criminalisation of the traffickers in order that it is not an isolated strategy and is one of many strategies. Fundamentally, we come from the position that the targeting of young vulnerable women whether they are from developing countries is because of poverty, lack of education and a lack of knowledge about what is happening. All our evidence shows us it is about vulnerable, disadvantaged women.

It is wrong to say that there is not sufficient research on this. We identified in our research at one moment in time 102 women who had been trafficked into Ireland and into the prostitution industry. The two are absolutely connected and cannot be seen as separate categories. We also found that the Irish prostitution industry - it is different from the way prostitution has changed over the past number of decades - comprised 98% migrant women, many of whom had been trafficked. Some had come to Ireland through promises of work or they had been internally trafficked after work opportunities failed. There is substantial evidence in Ireland - perhaps more so in Ireland than in most other European countries - as a result of the research carried out.