Samantha (not her real name) was told she was going to the UK to study international business management but when she arrived, she was brought to a house and forced into sex work.
"There were different men every day in the house, it was really traumatising," she said.
"At a point, I just felt like it was my life because you just see no hope there, you have nowhere to go."
In her home in West Africa, she had made contact with an 'agent' who promised to arrange a university course and told her she would work alongside her studies to pay the agent’s fees.
But on arrival, her passport was taken away from her, and she was told sex work was the only way she could pay back the money.
Samantha said her experience of police in Africa meant she had little trust in law enforcement, and she did not feel she could go to police or trust anyone.
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After eight months, she escaped from the house and eventually made her way to Ireland where she entered the international protection system.
She is now being supported by Rosa's Place, a support service for female trafficking victims run by the charity DePaul.
Established eighteen months ago, the eight-bed unit is the only accommodation centre specifically for female trafficking victims in Ireland.
"I'm still fighting trauma, it really terrified me so much."
Women in the international protection system, who are identified as victims of trafficking, can be referred here for a period of a few months to rest and receive tailored supports.
Samantha said her time there has been incredibly helpful, but she still bears the scars of her experience.
"I’m more confident in myself. Before, I couldn’t speak. I’m still fighting trauma, it really terrified me so much. I hate men, I don’t like associating with them."
The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, the country’s special rapporteur on human trafficking, said while it is very positive to see a bespoke accommodation facility, it is inadequate to meet demand.
Liam Herrick, Chief Commissioner with the IHREC, said he anticipates demand will go up as Ireland becomes more effective at identifying victims.
New referral mechanism to come into force
Under a new national referral mechanism due to come into operation in Ireland, frontline agencies other than gardaí will be able to identify victims.
But the IHREC is concerned that this legislation has still not been implemented, as the necessary operational guidelines are still being developed.
"It needs greater political priority," said Mr Herrick. "There are promising signs, but as often in Ireland, legislation is the first step.
"Implementation is the key factor in whether something is successful or not."
"And we are concerned it’s not clear the operational guidelines will meet the necessary standards, from our point of view," he added.
"There are people moving around the country trying to hide and protect themselves."
"We need to ensure we are capturing all victims of trafficking, that we’re identifying them and they are enabled to come forward."
Mr Herrick said that many victims will not come forward if they fear they may be required to co-operate with criminal investigations, and that access to services must be ensured regardless of immigration status.
Lucille O’Boyle, a caseworker at Rosa’s Place, said trafficking is a very complex situation and it is not always straightforward for victims to come forward and seek help.
She pointed out that victims experience a high level of trauma and fear, are often isolated with few resources, and in a totally unfamiliar environment.
"I’ve had women coming into this service who wouldn’t know what a traffic light is," she said. "I’d walk them into Dublin city centre, and they’d be asking me what’s this, what’s that."
Ms O’Boyle said she has seen women break down in tears of gratitude when they come to the service and realise they have their own bed in a private, safe environment.
Women forced to swear an 'oath'
Even after some women manage to escape, traffickers can continue to instill fear in their victims.
Ms O’Boyle said traffickers, or their agents have made women swear an 'oath’, and due to their cultural background, the women can believe this is very serious.
"The women believe, due to this oath, something bad is going to happen to them or their families.
"A lot of our women would have constant communication with their families, and their families tell them the trafficker has been in touch with them, asking where they are.
"And if [the family] does not tell them where they are, they’re going to cause harm to their families.
"So, there are people moving around the country trying to hide and protect themselves."
Ms O’Boyle said when women arrive at Rosa’s Place, they often look like "a shell of a woman", but after being able to rest and receive support they can "look whole again".
After leaving the unit, some of the women have been able to return to their home countries, some have moved into their own accommodation, and some have been relocated back into international protection accommodation.
Rosa’s Place is currently a pilot programme developed and run by the charity DePaul in co-operation with partners in the International Protection services.
There are hopes it can continue and expand.
Niamh Thornton, senior services manager at DePaul, said it is clear there is a need for the service.
"I think we have also identified there is a need for extra services, for example, there currently is no service for male victims of trafficking," she said.
"We’ve had a steady demand since we opened.
"One of the areas where we have identified a gap, and a demand we are unable to meet, is women within the system who are not eligible for international protection."
"And because of the nature of the service here, we’re unable to accommodate them, because at the end of their stay, there are no appropriate move-on options for them because they can’t return to IPAS accommodation.
"That’s certainly an area where we are unable to meet the demand which is really unfortunate."
