Victims of sex slavery up two thirds last year

33 people saved from exploitation

THE number of sexual slavery victims in Northern Ireland rose by two thirds last year.

But statistics available for those reportedly held against their will are just the tip of the iceberg, as officials admit the true extent of the threat is unknown. Last year, 33 people here were freed from the clutches of criminals. Of that number 10 people claimed they were being used sexually, while a further 11 said they had been exploited for labour purposes. Five victims told authorities they had been kept as slaves, while one had suffered what officials termed “unknown exploitation”. Six of the people rescued were children. The National Crime Agency 2017 analysis found criminals were going online to target people. It reported: “Modern slavery and human trafficking offenders are most likely to recruit victims of trafficking online. The prevalence of these methods is highly likely to increase. “Online advertising of victims is highly likely to be the most significant enabler of sexual exploitation over the same period.” Victims were male and female and came from all over the world. Last year the NCA which provided the figures, recorded more than 3,800 cases of “modern slavery’ across the UK – less than a third of the 13,000 estimated victims in 2014 . Although there was a 40% drop in recorded “slavery” figures from 2015 to 2016 in Northern Ireland, the number of victims who said they had been forced into sexual servitude increased 66%, while domestic slavery claims doubled. The use of brothels for sex trafficking is also thought to be decreasing, with this type of exploitation moving to hotel s or clients’ properties, though massage parlours continue to be used. Cards advertising sexual services are still being placed in public but online marketing is increasingly prevalent. The PSNI rescued four women from suspected traffickers and arrested two men in East Belfast and Banbridge, Co Down, on May 25. A week earlier, a man aged 32, and woman aged 20 were charged with human trafficking and prostitution after a 29-year-old woman was “rescued” in Dungannon, Co Tyrone.