Need to know
More than 500 women a day are advertising sex across major escort websites in one part of the UK, experts have warned many could be victims of coerced sex work and organised sex trafficking rings
What you need to know as sex trafficking fears surge
- More than 500 women a day are being advertised for sex on websites in Northern Ireland, sparking fears of a serious trafficking scandal.
- Campaigners warn many of these women advertising as “independent escorts” are victims of organised trafficking rings. Experts say many speak “very basic English” which is a major red flag.
- Ruth Breslin from the Sexual Exploitation Research Programme said: “The majority of women we see on these sites are women who are being organised, coerced and controlled.”
- Numerous websites operate across Northern Ireland, with Escort Ireland advertising hundreds of women daily. The sites remain legal despite Northern Ireland’s laws making it illegal to purchase sex.
- Since 2015, at least 134 people have been arrested for paying for sexual services. Sex trade survivor Mia Doring wants the sites banned completely. Doring claims men using these sites are “deeply misogynistic” and “do not care if the woman is trafficked or not.”
- READ THE FULL STORY: More than 500 women selling sex every day in one part of UK as trafficking fears surge
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