'Be aware, be vigilant': As many as 100 victims of human trafficking in Cork at any one time

There are as many as 100 victims of human trafficking in Cork at any one time, the Lord Mayor has said, as numerous Cork groups and agencies attended a conference on the topic organised by Cork Against Human Trafficking (CAHT) yesterday in Cork County Hall.

CAHT is a group comprised of various agencies, including representatives from Cork Sexual Violence Centre, NASC, Mercy Efforts for Child Protection Against Trafficking with the Hospitality and Services (Mecpaths), An Garda Síochána, the Legal Aid Board, the HSE, and University College Cork to tackle human trafficking.

Mary Crilly, CEO of the Sexual Violence Centre Cork, who was one of the organisers of the event, explained it was arranged to co-ordinate with World Day against Trafficking in Persons yesterday.

She thanked Cork County Council for allowing their 17th floor to be used for the event, which focused on labour trafficking and featured three speakers, from An Garda Síochána, the Workplace Relations Commission, and Mecpaths.

Ms Crilly told The Echo: “It was really well attended. We had over 100 people and they stayed for the whole day. It was great to have both the city and the county mayor there, because that was what we wanted, to bring everyone together.”

She said that more needed to be done about trafficking: 

“It’s happening everywhere, we’ve always dealt with women who have been trafficked for sexual exploitation. I’ve met women who have been in brothels that have been raided by the gardaí, and then they come to us after.”

She said there were likely huge numbers of children being trafficked, as thousands of cases were investigated in Britain each year, “so they’re here, we’re just not finding them”.

Ms Crilly said: “It was a brilliant conference with an amazing energy — it was a call to action to keep moving, get more people involved. There isn’t a CAHT equivalent anywhere else in the country, but there’s too much work for one organisation, and too many of us working separately, we need collaboration.”

Fianna Fáil councillor Fergal Dennehy, Lord Mayor of Cork, who attended the event, told The Echo afterwards: “Human trafficking is not something that happens only in distant places and corners of the world. It happens here in Ireland, and even more disturbingly here in Cork city and Cork county.

“It is estimated that there are 100 victims at any one time of human trafficking in Cork, which is a startling statistic. Victims are trafficked for forced labour, sexual exploitation, or domestic servitude, often lured by false promises, trapped through fear, and silenced by coercion. Many of these victims are women and children, migrants, but what they all have in common is that they are robbed of their freedom and dignity.

“In recent years, Cork has seen a number of investigations and interventions relating to suspected trafficking. Gardaí and NGOs [non-governmental organisations] have worked to identify victims, but we know that many more cases go undetected. Trafficking is a hidden crime, often taking place behind closed doors in ordinary buildings.”

He said that a role for the council was responding to calls for gender-specific accommodation for victims of trafficking, as raised by the NGO Ruhama recently.

Mr Dennehy concluded: “To the residents of Cork, I say be aware, be vigilant, and don’t be afraid to ask questions or report concerns in terms of human trafficking. To the victims, both known and unknown; you’re not invisible, you are not alone.”