Human trafficking is a lucrative and fastest growing criminal industry in the world, an independent Irish charity has said. According to Team Hope – a Christian development and relief charity – action is urgently needed to address this human epidemic.
“Essentially, slavery is still happening; women are constantly being trafficked for sex, even into Ireland,” said Niall Barry of the south Dublin-based charity. “The majority of women trafficked into Ireland for sexual exploitation are forced to work as sex slaves in large provincial towns.”
Barry continued: “The harsh reality of the situation is that these vulnerable women from many of the poorest parts of the world are being cruelly duped.
“They are lured into travelling to the developed world with a free plane ticket, on the promise of a respectable job that would enable them to send money to their families back home.”
Instead, the charity says these unsuspecting women are cut off from their loved ones and trapped into modern-day slavery by heartless gangs who subject them to “daily sexual exploitation”.
“These women endure severe emotional, physical and psychological harm that most of us are blissfully unaware is even happening.”
Moldova, one of the poorest countries in Europe, is most notorious for trafficking women, Team Hope stated.
Barry said the organisation is hoping to help reduce the menace of human trafficking in Moldova through awareness. Teams from the organisation are already on the ground, going into Moldovan secondary schools and warning the students of the potential dangers, he noted.
Team Hope is also operating a shelter for Moldovan girls who have been returned to their home country after being rescued from sexual slavery, said Barry.
For further information, call 01 294 0222 or visit www.teamhope.ie.
