Ioana’s* Story. A case of human trafficking in Ireland.
This is Ioana’s* story, a young woman from Romania.
My name is Ioana and I am from Romania. I am 25 years old. I do not know much about where I came from. I never knew my family. I was brought up in an orphanage in my city until I was 18. Shortly after I left school, I got a job and went to live with my boyfriend, Andrei. The next year our daughter, Ana, was born. But when she was six months old Andrei left to get a job in Italy.
I became depressed, life was not easy. I was working and trying to make the best wage I could. I was bringing up my daughter on my own, with no family around me. Some months later I got to know a man called Stefan. He talked about making good money and said he could get me a job as a cleaner in a hotel if I wanted. He even said I could leave my daughter with his mother, Elena, while we were in Ireland. It would not be forever.
Elena was always kind to me. Being with her made me feel like part of the family, like I had a real mother of my own. I really liked Stefan and was very grateful to him. No one had every helped me like that before. When everything was arrange we travelled to Ireland together. It was my first time in another country. I didn’t know any English at all but luckily Stefan spoke the language well.
When we arrived Stefan brought me to a house, in Dublin city I think. After a few days I started to ask about the cleaning job he had promised - what exactly was I going to do? Stefan avoided talking about it. A few days later Stefan came to me suggesting that I cold have sex with men. This was the job he had for me! I argued with him and tried to convince him to look for another job for me but he said that this was the best thing that I could do for now.
“I felt tricked, cheated. But at least I was not left alone.”
— Ioana
He said that I didn’t have a choice. I didn’t speak the language so how would I be able to understand anything? He sounded to angry with me, I was afraid. Then he would tell me that it would not be for long, that he loved me and it would be fine. He would promise that we would save money and build a house together. He would convince me that we were together in this situation but that it would be ok in the end, even though it would be hard for awhile.
I was afraid that I would lose Stefan’s love and that he would abandon me. I had no one else, especially in this country where I knew no-one.
Men starting coming to the house and I had to have sex with them, so many men. Never stopping. At all times of the day and the night. I feel ashamed about what I did, what I had to do in that situation. In all of it I was telling myself that it was a way I cold send money home for my daughter.
Over the months, we were in many places –different towns and different houses and apartments. I would wake up and would tell me to pack up and be ready quickly. And off we’d go to another place. I was never sure where I was or where I was going next. Stefan is still watching me all the time. If I am out, he phones me all the time to check up where I am and what I am doing. He checks my phone when I come in. Then in the house, he listens if try to make or take a call. At night, he takes my phone anyway.
If I do anything wrong, something that annoys him, he threatens to beat me. Even worse, he says that he will tell his mother to bring my daughter to the orphanage and leave her there. That she would be better off without me; that I am a bad mother. That terrifies me.
So I am still here.
Where is she now?
Ioana is a survivor of sex trafficking. She escaped through the assistance of one of her punters, he contacted Ruhama asking for advice on what to do.
Seduction and romance are clever tactics used by traffickers to prey on vulnerable people. Ioana had no family support. This brave woman got help but there are many others in her situation, controlled in ways that means victims are often hiding in plain sight.
If you know of someone like Ioana who needs help then please contact An Garda Síochána or reach out to Ruhama for advice. To learn more about Ruhama and the supports they can provide please visit www.ruhama.ie.
This case study has been shared by Ruhama and has been told by Ioana’s caseworker. It has been published with Ruhama’s permission.
*Pseudonyms have been used to protect identities throughout.