Six children saved from risk of sex slavery in NI

children were rescued from potential sex slavery last year in Northern Ireland.

They were among 52 potential victims of human trafficking here, a 68% increase on 2017.

The victims comprised of 32 women, 20 men and 17 minors.

The six children reported for possible sexual exploitation were all female, the BBC reported.

In all, 20 referrals came about as a result of claims of sexual exploitation. These 20 people represented 17 different nationalities, with seven coming from the UK.

There were also seven referrals of Chinese and Romanian nationals.

The figures are from referrals to the National Crime Agency’s National Referral Mechanism (NRM) which is a government system to identify and support victims.

Suspected victims are given 45 days to recovered while the Home Office investigates their case. The decision could affect their immigration status.

Lord Morrow introduced the Human Trafficking and Support for Victims Bill in the Assembly. The Bill came into force in January 2015. He said more action was needed.

“I very much welcome that six children have been saved from potential sex slavery in 2018,” he said.

“The PSNI are to be congratulated for this achievement. However, there is still disappointment at the lack of prosecutions for this insidious crime.

“It is important that the perpetrators are brought before the courts and punished for their disgusting and illegal behaviour.”

Sinn Fein MLA Raymond McCartney said: “Human trafficking involves horrific abuses of human rights, but they are largely hidden crimes which makes it difficult to assess the scale of the problem.”