A NEW PUBLIC awareness campaign by the Immigrant Council of Ireland is asking members of the public to report any suspicions they have about exploitation happening in their community.
A radio campaign targeting pimps and criminal gangs will run from today, in a bid to hone in on those at the centre of the sex trade.
The campaign features a pimp arguing with a woman in prostitution who has not satisfied a buyer and makes the point ‘Women forced into prostitution don’t profit from it, criminals do’.
It asks people with suspicions about this kind of activity happening in their local area to come forward and report it.
“Raising awareness about the reality of prostitution is key if we are to offer any hope to women who are being victimised, exploited and trafficked,” commented CEO of the council Denise Charlton.
The advert reflects what is the reality for women trapped in prostitution across Ireland, including the 60 victims of human trafficking for sexual exploitation who we have supported through our frontline services.
Testifying before the Oireachtas Justice Committee, senior gardaí could not have been clearer about who benefits from prostitution when they testified that ‘It is highly probable that a large
percentage of the moneys generated from the industry is being redeployed into organised crime groups, domestically and internationally.’
It is estimated that these criminal pocket between €180 million and €250 million a year.
“Now we are letting people know that there is something they can do to stop this, by coming forward and reporting to gardaí if they suspect criminal activity in their local areas,” Charlton added.
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