Job Seekers Trapped in Vice Ring

It is a crime that touches all generations and continents.

And concerns are growing that Northern Ireland is finding a particular place on the human-smuggling world map.

When they leave their homes in eastern Europe, they put their trust in people they believe will lead them to jobs as au pairs and waitresses.

But within days, those who promised them a better life sell them on as sex slaves.

People-trafficking touches all continents, crosses generations and sometimes genders.

It is a crime that is raising grave concern amongst human rights organisations and aid agencies who fear that Northern Ireland is becoming a gateway into the Republic and Great Britain for criminals who exploit cheap flights, charters and the land border between the two jurisdictions.

A conference held at Queens University in Belfast last week heard how women who had been trafficked, and who eventually were helped by projects in Dublin, Glasgow and London, had been forced into prostitution in Northern Ireland.