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Ireland

In 2016 and 2017, Ruhama reported helping 304 women, men, and transgender people, with 63 receiving street outreach support in 2016 and 62 in 2017. The NGO continues to be an active supporter of victims of prostitution and human trafficking. In 2017, 244 victims received individual support, 50 victims benefited from housing and social security, and 81 victims received reintegration assistance. The Department of Justice and Equality, in agreement with the Irish Department of Health Services, provides funding to Ruhama to support exit routes for prostituted people. Ruhama was also a partner in the ‘A Penny For Your Thoughts’ campaign, an international art project which aimed to raise awareness of the reality of human trafficking within prostitution. Different countries developed a narrative tailored to their culture using a ‘provocative’ silhouette and phone number displayed as an advertisement. The story of ‘Andreea’ was used in Dublin to draw attention to the prevalence of trafficking in the Irish sex trade. The result of the project, a video called “What Irish Sex Buyers Are Really Thinking,” revealed some of the over 1,000 responses from persons looking to buy sex. Even after hearing a message from ‘Andreea’ describing being trafficked into Ireland, 68% of the callers who left voicemail messages still asked about the services she offered. Not only were the callers looking to buy sexual services, which has been illegal in Ireland since 2017, they were also knowingly soliciting sex from a victim of trafficking, which is an even more serious offence under the 2017 law.