The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) recently issued an extradition request to India about members of a trafficking gang, after a woman was rescued from domestic servitude in a Belfast house two years ago. The victim was working as a domestic servant for an Indian family, with no pay and had her passport confiscated by the family.
Announcing the extradition request, Assistant Chief Constable Drew Harris of the Organised Crime Task Force said 23 victims of human trafficking were rescued from slavery in Northern Ireland last year, the majority of whom were sex trafficking victims.
In June 2011 the Institute for Conflict Research Institute in conjunction with the South Tyrone Empowerment Programme, Multi Cultural Resource Centre and the Law Centre in Northern Ireland published an extensive report, Forced Labour in Northern Ireland.
The report highlights three areas in Northern Ireland where forced labour is prevalent - the mushroom industry; the fishing industry; and the Roma community.
Among the report's findings was evidence that migrants suffer exploitation by members of their own community as well as the Northern Irish community. The report found that vulnerable migrants were accepting poor pay and poor working conditions, as the conditions and pay were better than in their home country. The report also found that where migrants do manage to escape forced labour, there are a lack of support mechanisms in place. This often leaves migrants with few options.
The report's authors assert among their recommendations that the issue of forced labour be raised in Northern Ireland. The research carried out for the report was conducted from June 2009 to December 2010.
Click here to read about the work of the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland on forced labour, including their framework for tackling the issue.