Mark Baillie, CARE's Northern Ireland Policy Officer spoke to the Belfast Newsletter about how the Republic of Ireland has followed Northern Irelands' lead in passing a bill to make it illegal for people to pay for sex and how this will have a crucial impact in the fight against modern day slavery.

Mark Baillie:

“This law is ground-breaking and together with Northern Ireland’s human trafficking legalisation, which criminalises sexual purchases, it makes the whole of Ireland a hostile place for traffickers. In passing this bill by a huge majority, the Republic of Ireland has clearly confirmed that Northern Ireland’s decision to criminalise the purchase of sex was the right move. This law addresses the inequality, harm and exploitation that is at the heart of prostitution, and holds those who drive it – the buyers – responsible for their actions. With legislation in place both sides of the border in Ireland, there will be nowhere for perpetrators to hide from this law.”

The Belfast Newsletter also highlighted CARE's work with Lord Morrow on the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Criminal Justice and Support for Victims) Act (Northern Ireland) 2015.

You can read the article in full here.

Currently, Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK who have made it illegal for people to pay for sex. CARE urges other governments to do the same.

You can read about why Scotland should criminalise the purchase of sex here.

Northern Ireland Assembly Elections - Have you thought about what different parties and candidates views are on how to tackle human trafficking and prostitution?

In the run up to the Assembly Elections in Northern Ireland CARE has launched Engage 17, a practical resource that will equip voters and churches for the NI Elections.

CARE has put together specific pages on both human trafficking and prostitution. On these pages CARE has put together a useful list of questions for voters to be able to ask prospective candidates about these issues. We also have a great blog on 'The Impact of the Northern Ireland Assembly on Human Trafficking' that you may be interested to read.