Debate contribution: Adult Services Websites

Debate contribution by Mrs Ciara Ferguson on 27 January 2026.

MLA

Mrs Ciara Ferguson

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

27 January 2026

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Adult Services Websites

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5345505

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I welcome the motion and thank the Members who tabled it, because we all know that victims of sexual exploitation and human trafficking are oftentimes among some of the most vulnerable and traumatised individuals in our communities. The Department of Justice strategy on modern slavery and human trafficking for 2024-27 rightly focuses on the relentless pursuit and disruption of offenders, the protection and support of victims and the longer-term prevention of those practices, including through awareness raising and training. Arguably, the fourth "p" is about strengthening partnership and collaboration on the issue, and we therefore very much welcome the opportunity to engage further with the recently established all-party group on human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. We must unite to tackle all forms of sexual exploitation and human trafficking, including child sexual exploitation. That requires a holistic approach to strengthening our legal frameworks, tackling poverty and deprivation and expanding awareness around trafficking, coercion and exploitation. I will acknowledge, briefly, some of the brilliant work being undertaken by the likes of the NSPCC and Barnardo's to raise awareness of the issues. Prostitution and the wider sex trade industry are highly gendered. Additionally, they are inextricably linked with other intersectional identities, with many women entering that industry as a result of coercion due to their experience of poverty, human trafficking or grooming. We have a duty to tackle the continued exploitation of vulnerable groups, including those experiencing homelessness or addiction issues, migrant women and those living in abject poverty. Child sexual exploitation is utterly devastating. The statistics and research suggest a particular link between children who have been reported missing from residential care homes and child sexual exploitation. The hidden nature of human trafficking and its under-reporting remain a significant challenge. Other aspects, including language barriers, immigration status and educational under-attainment can support the enablement of those horrific crimes. We need strengthened all-Ireland collaboration between the PSNI's modern slavery and human trafficking unit and the gardaí's human trafficking investigation and coordination unit. While the purchase of sex has been criminalised across Ireland, there exists a continuing challenge around tackling the proliferation of websites that provide online hubs for traffickers and exploiters. We must expand community-based education and awareness of issues such as grooming, coercion, consent, exploitation and the different forms of gender-based violence and sexual abuse. We need to strengthen the regulation of online platforms and modern technology to eradicate the facilitation of profiteering from exploitation. Tackling exploitation and human trafficking requires us to tackle the structures that drive inequality, exploitation and abuse. We have a duty to strengthen regulations that apply to the digital sphere, including AI tools. We must deliver improved all-Ireland collaboration on the issue among criminal justice agencies and front-line responders. We must focus on how to best ensure that our shared focus is grounded in the lived experience of survivors. A chairde,

we want to deliver a new Ireland in which all women and girls can live free from violence, exploitation, harassment or control; an Ireland that upholds and protects the fundamental rights to dignity, justice and equality; and an Ireland in which women and children are safe inside the home, respected in public places and protected fully in both the physical world and the online world.

540 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 14:22 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

Disagree with this assessment?

Classifications can be challenged. A person reads every challenge, and any change is recorded publicly above with its reason.

Challenge this classification