Debate contribution: Adult Services Websites

Debate contribution by Ms Diane Forsythe on 27 January 2026.

MLA

Ms Diane Forsythe

Party at the time

Democratic Unionist Party

Date

27 January 2026

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Adult Services Websites

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5345578

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Thank you, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker. I thank Peter Martin and other colleagues for tabling the motion. I also thank all Members who contributed to the debate and the Justice Minister for being here and for her contribution. In my previous job with Belfast and Lisburn Women's Aid, I learned so much about the extent of trafficking in Northern Ireland. I really got my eyes opened. As the Justice Minister said, unless you are close to it, you think that a lot of it is about travelling distances and immigration, whereas a lot of it is happening in plain sight in Northern Ireland. Through my work, I know about the horror experienced by victims and the fear, shame and worry that they have about coming forward. I speak in support of Women's Aid and other organisations that support those suffering at the coalface who perhaps never enter the justice system but who are very much victims. In the debate, Peter Martin spoke about the launch of the new all-party group, and I congratulate him and others on that. It is a very welcome progression on this important subject. In opening the debate, he spoke about the fact that the websites profit from sexual exploitation. That was a simple comment, but it is, ultimately, what we are talking about today. I welcome the fact that everyone across the Chamber spoke with a united voice, because they recognise the reality and horrors of such websites. Emma Sheerin said that the abuse of women is nothing new but that technology facilitates it. She said that we need to have informed conversations with young men and young women. Connie Egan is the vice chair of the all-party group, and I wish her well in that role. She spoke in support of the motion and talked about the under-reporting of such offences, as is the case with many sex offences. She talked about the items of work on the issue that are in the early stages of progression and her commitment to them. Doug Beattie spoke about the importance of justice and protecting the most vulnerable in society. He spoke of masked individuals and how anonymity is used to exploit women. He gave the House some very real, powerful examples. He said that we do not see the full extent of the suffering of victims. Paula Bradshaw intervened to, rightly, highlight how our MPs raising the issue at Westminster is critical in our journey. Patsy McGlone spoke about the need for the safety and welfare of victims to be at the fore. He said that research has shown that there is little evidence of removing the websites. He also said that we need a more efficient enforcement strategy. Ciara Ferguson spoke about the victims of sexual exploitation and how they are often the most vulnerable in society and need to be our focus. She spoke about increasing awareness and working in partnership and highlighted the important work of the NSPCC and Barnardo's on child sexual exploitation. She mentioned the devastating stories of children who are reported missing from children's homes and often end up in the world of sexual exploitation. She also spoke about the need to strengthen regulation of the websites. Paul Frew, Chair of the Justice Committee, spoke about the fact that he served in the Assembly with Lord Morrow in 2015 when his legislation was coming through the Assembly. He talked about the harrowing statistics and the story of Sarah. He said that abusers are often convicted but that the websites where the abuse was facilitated remain and profit to the tune of millions. He mentioned how wrong that is. He spoke about the demeaning and degrading comments on those platforms and the need to see more convictions where it really matters. Aoife Finnegan highlighted the need for compassion and talked about women's lives, safety, dignity and well-being. She spoke of the need to proceed with care to ensure that welfare and safety are at the heart of policy that is shaped by the lived experience of victims. Brian Kingston highlighted the fact that modern technology has brought forward many good things, but that, unfortunately, it has facilitated crimes in different ways. He spoke of how women are not commodities for sale and every effort should be made to bring such websites to an end. Robbie Butler spoke of how we need to be intentional in our response, alongside respecting the victims. He spoke about the need to look at the entire culture that surrounds the whole issue. Timothy Gaston spoke about how dehumanising and degrading such websites are and how there is no place for them in Northern Ireland. He spoke about how the low levels of conviction and enforcement in Northern Ireland for purchasing sexual services do not inspire confidence and need to be improved. Gerry Carroll said that prohibition might reduce demand but that we run the risk of driving trafficking underground. I thought that that was sensible, but he then went on to attack evangelical Christians and the DUP. The lack of respect for Christian women in Northern Ireland is quite offensive.

I am here as a proud DUP woman who has been elected to the House. I am an active voice on women's safety, and I chair the all-party group on domestic and sexual violence, at which I do not see his party represented too often.

I thank the Member, but, unfortunately, he did not apologise for his comments about evangelical Christianity or members of my party. In response to this important motion, the Justice Minister spoke strongly about her unwavering commitment to the prioritisation of work in this field, and she said that human trafficking websites are an affront to the values of society. She also spoke about the desperation and need of those who have made those choices. She spoke about her track record on moving things forward in a previous mandate, and she welcomed the new all-party group and the launch of its inquiry into adult services websites. We look forward to seeing what the outcome of that will be. The Minister also spoke about the ongoing work within her Department on engaging with other jurisdictions. I welcome that very much and look forward to seeing what comes out of that as we look across to what others are doing and at what is working well. The Minister also spoke, as did other Members, about the need to keep everything here victim-centred. That is incredibly important; I was pleased to hear her say that. She spoke about how it is good that Northern Ireland has been included in some wider research. I welcome that. Again, I look forward to the details of that coming out. Hopefully, that can be captured in the all-party group's inquiry. The Minister also highlighted the Department's work on the three-year strategy, the framework and how the report on one year of the strategy is due out soon. That is good, because it will progress while the inquiry is ongoing. We look forward to those things coming together. The Minister also spoke about her work with the Independent Anti-slavery Commissioner. It is good to hear that they have been working closely on this. She spoke about how the identification of victims is important and gave a lot of food for thought in that area. Her example of the woman in Hydebank not realising that she was a victim of trafficking was powerful, but, sadly, it is not an isolated incident. We know that these things are widespread. The Minister also talked about the need to be victim-centred and to rebuild victims' lives. We need to see a strong justice response. The Minister also spoke of the importance of the work of the PSNI. In closing, Lord Morrow's legislation was passed in 2015 — just over a decade ago. It is right that we are looking at it closely today. The effectiveness of the legislation is only as good as the enforcement, as was highlighted during the debate. I welcome the Minister's strong commitment in the field. I believe that she takes it seriously. We look forward to the APG inquiry and the Minister and Department's proactive responses to it. We will also continue to work closely with our MP colleagues. As the Minister highlighted, telecoms is a reserved matter, but this is a much wider cultural issue that needs to be addressed. We should be speaking up against this at every opportunity that we get. It is a horrific subject that many shy away from speaking about, but, as was said, it is happening in plain sight in Northern Ireland. Together, we need to stand against it. I hope that all Members can support our motion and commit themselves to working against human trafficking and adult services websites.

1,468 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

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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.

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