Ruhama, the charity which works with women affected by prostitution and sexual exploitation in Ireland, has launched a Cork-Kerry service in response to growing demand for its supports there.
The charity has published new research highlighting "serious deficiencies" in accommodation for victims of human trafficking.
It said the new service will ensure that women in "remote, rural or isolated" circumstances have equal access to supports.
The research, titled 'Room for Recovery - Housing Hope After Exploitation' finds that by failing to offer victims appropriate supported housing "Ireland is falling far short of its obligations under binding EU legislation".
It recommends that a new model of accommodation for victims must "explicitly recognise the cumulative harms of gender-based violence, sexual exploitation and human trafficking, and facilitate recovery from these harms".
Last year Ruhama helped around 1,000 victims, 95% of whom were female.
Ruhama Chief Executive Barbara Condon said that all women in the southwest "deserve better access to help and support on this issue".
"The continued accommodation of these victims-survivors with their particular vulnerabilities among the general asylum reception and general International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) is inhumane and untenable."
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland she said that as part of the research, Ireland was found to be the only country studied which did not provide specialist accommodation for victims of human trafficking for sexual exploitation.
"Another key finding was that the current model of accommodation leaves victims and survivors very vulnerable to being re-exploited and re-traumatised," she said.
Ahead of the launch of the service, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said human trafficking for sexual exploitation is "one of the most heinous crimes our society is faced with today".
He added that the frontline service is in line with the Government's plans to tackle trafficking, and its zero tolerance strategy to tackling domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.
