4.10.04
BBC
NI CHILDREN 'USED AS PROSTITUTES'
20 September 2004
Children are being abused as prostitutes in Northern Ireland
BBC Newsline reporter Shane Glynn writes on his investigation into child prostitution in Northern Ireland.
Children as young as 13 are being used as prostitutes in Northern Ireland, childcare specialists have told the BBC.
According to experts, while paramilitaries are involved, families have also been selling their own children for sex.
A BBC Newsline investigation has unearthed a chilling picture of what is going on in towns, cities and country areas across Northern Ireland.
In the words of one teenager who has been a victim of the illicit trade: "It goes on everywhere, but it's just that well hidden, nobody would see it..."
In her tracksuit and trainers, she looked much like any other young girl - a bit more nervous perhaps, clutching her mobile phone and cigarettes.
But then she began to tell her story.
Reporter Shane Glynn speaks to 'Jo' about her tragic story
Jo (not her real name) is 19 and comes from an average Northern Ireland town.
But just a few years ago, she was trapped in a world of abuse, drugs and violence.
Between the age of 13 and 16 she was a child prostitute - not on the streets of London or Dublin - but in Belfast.
Looking back, Jo says she gets depressed and angry when she thinks about what she went through.
She was living in a children's home and was initially attracted to prostitution by the money.
'It's still happening'
But she soon became trapped - she was threatened and beaten by one individual who controlled many of the girls on the street - and began taking drugs.
"The punters - as they put it - like a bit of fresh meat. Some of them even asked me if I could get them younger girls, but I refused.
"I just kept my eyes closed and tried not to think about it too much - but a couple of times I was sick afterwards.
"Since we began investigating this type of abuse, the charity workers, outreach volunteers, teachers, social workers and other experts we have talked to, have stressed that it is just that - child prostitution equals child abuse."
"At the time, I thought everybody liked me and loved me, but now I know - they abused me.
"This happened to me, it happened to loads of other people. It's still happening, and it'll probably never stop until people start opening their eyes and realise it," Jo says.
It seems wrong to call it prostitution when it involves young girls and boys.
Since we began investigating this type of abuse, the charity workers, outreach volunteers, teachers, social workers and other experts we have talked to, have stressed that it is just that - child prostitution equals child abuse.
'Shock for people'
Those experts all agree - there are children being abused through prostitution all across Northern Ireland.
"I wouldn't have any doubts that it (the numbers involved) would be in the hundreds, definitely," Jacqui Montgomery-Devlin from Barnardos told the BBC.
Social worker Jim Deeds says the problem is going to grow
Koulla Yiasouma, the director of Include Youth, which works with young people at risk in Belfast, says: "I've heard of cases involving children as young as 13, but all the evidence would suggest that it could be any age.
Social worker Jim Deeds studied the abuse of children through prostitution in Northern Ireland as part of his university studies.
"While it is a shock for people to hear, I think we're really only scratching the surface," he says.
"I think as the years go on, the problem is going to grow as people become more aware of the horror of what this brings to young people."
He described how, in the past, he encountered one shocking incident.
"A family member would have gone to the local pub, put the (house) keys on the bar, and taken bids.
"Whoever paid the most money would have got the keys. I remember the young people talking about the horror of not knowing who was coming home that night."
Jacqui Montgomery-Devlin says hundreds may be involved
Throughout this week, BBC Newsline is examining the abuse of children through prostitution in Northern Ireland.
Through Jo's story, we hope to make people aware of what is happening to vulnerable children in our towns and cities.
She will tell us what sort of people pay to have sex with children, where she was taken to, and how she finally managed to leave behind her life of abuse.
A helpline, run through Barnardos' Out of the Shadows project, will be staffed by trained experts throughout the week.
NI CHILDREN 'USED AS PROSTITUTES'
20 September 2004
Children are being abused as prostitutes in Northern Ireland
BBC Newsline reporter Shane Glynn writes on his investigation into child prostitution in Northern Ireland.
Children as young as 13 are being used as prostitutes in Northern Ireland, childcare specialists have told the BBC.
According to experts, while paramilitaries are involved, families have also been selling their own children for sex.
A BBC Newsline investigation has unearthed a chilling picture of what is going on in towns, cities and country areas across Northern Ireland.
In the words of one teenager who has been a victim of the illicit trade: "It goes on everywhere, but it's just that well hidden, nobody would see it..."
In her tracksuit and trainers, she looked much like any other young girl - a bit more nervous perhaps, clutching her mobile phone and cigarettes.
But then she began to tell her story.
Reporter Shane Glynn speaks to 'Jo' about her tragic story
Jo (not her real name) is 19 and comes from an average Northern Ireland town.
But just a few years ago, she was trapped in a world of abuse, drugs and violence.
Between the age of 13 and 16 she was a child prostitute - not on the streets of London or Dublin - but in Belfast.
Looking back, Jo says she gets depressed and angry when she thinks about what she went through.
She was living in a children's home and was initially attracted to prostitution by the money.
'It's still happening'
But she soon became trapped - she was threatened and beaten by one individual who controlled many of the girls on the street - and began taking drugs.
"The punters - as they put it - like a bit of fresh meat. Some of them even asked me if I could get them younger girls, but I refused.
"I just kept my eyes closed and tried not to think about it too much - but a couple of times I was sick afterwards.
"Since we began investigating this type of abuse, the charity workers, outreach volunteers, teachers, social workers and other experts we have talked to, have stressed that it is just that - child prostitution equals child abuse."
"At the time, I thought everybody liked me and loved me, but now I know - they abused me.
"This happened to me, it happened to loads of other people. It's still happening, and it'll probably never stop until people start opening their eyes and realise it," Jo says.
It seems wrong to call it prostitution when it involves young girls and boys.
Since we began investigating this type of abuse, the charity workers, outreach volunteers, teachers, social workers and other experts we have talked to, have stressed that it is just that - child prostitution equals child abuse.
'Shock for people'
Those experts all agree - there are children being abused through prostitution all across Northern Ireland.
"I wouldn't have any doubts that it (the numbers involved) would be in the hundreds, definitely," Jacqui Montgomery-Devlin from Barnardos told the BBC.
Social worker Jim Deeds says the problem is going to grow
Koulla Yiasouma, the director of Include Youth, which works with young people at risk in Belfast, says: "I've heard of cases involving children as young as 13, but all the evidence would suggest that it could be any age.
Social worker Jim Deeds studied the abuse of children through prostitution in Northern Ireland as part of his university studies.
"While it is a shock for people to hear, I think we're really only scratching the surface," he says.
"I think as the years go on, the problem is going to grow as people become more aware of the horror of what this brings to young people."
He described how, in the past, he encountered one shocking incident.
"A family member would have gone to the local pub, put the (house) keys on the bar, and taken bids.
"Whoever paid the most money would have got the keys. I remember the young people talking about the horror of not knowing who was coming home that night."
Jacqui Montgomery-Devlin says hundreds may be involved
Throughout this week, BBC Newsline is examining the abuse of children through prostitution in Northern Ireland.
Through Jo's story, we hope to make people aware of what is happening to vulnerable children in our towns and cities.
She will tell us what sort of people pay to have sex with children, where she was taken to, and how she finally managed to leave behind her life of abuse.
A helpline, run through Barnardos' Out of the Shadows project, will be staffed by trained experts throughout the week.
