Prostitutes deported amid trafficking fears

Immigration Minister Iain LeesGalloway says he’s ‘‘extremely concerned by the numerous allegations of sex trafficking’’, as Immigration New Zealand (INZ) deports dozens of illegal sex workers.

During the past three years, INZ has served deportation liability notices to 38 people on temporary visas who were found to be engaging in sex work.

Of those 38, 27 have been deported or have left voluntarily, while the other 11 are awaiting an outcome on their cases.

The deportations and warnings come as the Government continues to make migrant worker exploitation a priority, but the Prostitutes Collective says the law barring people on temporary visas from engaging in sex work is discriminatory, and deportation stigmatising.

Lees-Galloway said he was worried about sex trafficking and sex worker exploitation, and had asked INZ to give him regular updates on its work in the area.

‘‘It’s a matter that Immigration New Zealand takes very seriously and I’m satisfied they’re making good efforts to stamp out these practices.

‘‘Eliminating the exploitation of migrants is one of my top priorities.

‘‘We must make every effort to protect vulnerable people while they are in New Zealand,’’ he said.

The Prostitution Reform Act 2003 bans any temporary visa holder in this country from performing sexual services.

INZ manger Peter Devoy said

is the agency was aware temporary migrants who breached their visa conditions by working in the sex industry were ‘‘vulnerable to exploitation by unscrupulous employers and clients’’.

The agency had screening processes to stop people entering the country and to decline visas if there were grounds to suggest their real intention for travelling to New Zealand was to work in the sex industry.

In the year to February 2018, 132 suspected illegal sex workers had been prevented from entering New Zealand – either by being denied boarding on a flight, or being refused entry upon arrival.

However, INZ was not aware there was a specific concern people were choosing New Zealand as a destination to work illegally in the sex industry, Devoy said.

Meanwhile, Prostitutes’ Collective national co-ordinator Catherine Healy said exploitation of sex workers who were breaching their visa conditions was widespread.

In two cases, women had come to the Prostitutes’ Collective to report being raped. Others said payment had been withheld.

An international report published by Thailand-based Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women found no hard evidence of human trafficking in New Zealand’s sex industry.

Healy said she was not aware of sex trafficking, but abuse against illegal migrant sex workers did exist.

Healy has said the ideal scenario would be to change the ‘‘discriminatory’’ law to allow those on temporary visas to engage in sex work.