Last week, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC), in its role as Ireland’s National Rapporteur on Human Trafficking, published the first National Anti-Trafficking Report. IHREC identified a number of areas as key matters of priority in continuing to combat human trafficking in Ireland. These include
- Coordination among the relevant State departments and agencies – the Commission called for the inclusion of specialist NGOs in the National Action Plan and the creation of a Survivor Council to ensure survivors’ voices are included in planning and implementation processes
- Consistency in support and assistance to victims, to further bolster Ireland’s robust legislative framework criminalising trafficking and its existing measures for protecting victims in criminal proceedings
- Focus on attaining prosecutions, further building on existing expertise and previous successful convictions
- Urgent introduction of a new mechanism for identification of victims, focused on early identification and assistance – the Commission emphasised the importance of introducing a specific measure for identifying child victims of trafficking, and of assisting victims equally regardless of nationality or immigration status
- Urgent completion of the process to secure gender-specific shelter, noting that single-gender centres with close access to specialised services are suited to meeting the complex needs of victims of trafficking in the absence of specialised shelters for victims
- Strengthening the principle of non-prosecution of victims, encouraging wider application of the State policy of expunging past criminal records for some potential victims of trafficking
- Avoiding secondary victimisation, calling for the policing response to be further focused on victim-centred and trauma-informed approaches
- Strengthening the compensation avenues for victims, and making those avenues more accessible for those who need them – IHREC’s recommendations include allowing irregular migrants to access to the Workplace Relations Commission
- Separate legislation on forced labour, slavery and servitude, in order to clarify the position of human trafficking within law, particularly as it relates to other and related forms of exploitation
For more information, see:
IHREC Report, Trafficking in Human Beings in Ireland
See also:
Detection, identification and protection of third-country national victims of human trafficking in Ireland – EMN Ireland study, published April 2022
