Demand For Ruhama Services Spike By 30 Per cent For Women Victims

The demand for Ruhama services, a Dublin-based charity organisation that looks after the women victims of sexual exploitation and human trafficking in Ireland, has increased by 30 percent according to its report.
The organisation reported a 30 per cent rise in demand for its services by women victims as compared to last year.
The annual report showed that the demand for Ruhama services increased by 29 per cent in 2023 as the number of new victims reached out to them for help.
For the year 2022, Ruhama services were accessed by 108 new people for trauma management and counselling sessions, witnessing a 32 per cent rise in demand.
With such a spike in Ruhama services demand, a total of 307 individuals came for the Ruhama Casework team located in Dublin, Co Limerick and the midlands. The details about the casework were released in the annual report.
After observing a 30 per cent rise in demand for its services, Ruhama is now planning for the next five years strategically to address its growing need for the services to facilitate as many women victims as they could.
The charity’s aim is outlined in the plan as to “further expand the geographical reach of its services over the next five years”.
Views of CEO about why Ruhama services now matter the most
The increase in its service demand has helped the organisation grow in the past few years. The CEO, Barbara Condon explained that Ruhama had been able to spread its wings to Co Cork and Co Kerry to offer support to northwestern parts of the country.
She emphasised that a campaign would be launched soon for the public to see a connection between pornography and the sexual exploitation of women and how it gives rise to human trafficking.
Miss Condon said that greater awareness efforts are needed to protect women victims and future possibilities of dragging women into prostitution. She was of the view that more hard work is still in the pipeline that would challenge the men’s entitlement to pay for such sexual acts.
After working with several women victims each day, Miss Condon understands that “women have lived it and they carry it with them every day”. Some victims were so suppressed that they did not have their own addresses or bank accounts, she revealed.
The CEO elucidated that these women victims needed the confidence and courage to face the real world after their traumatic experience in sex trafficking that they could not come forward due to their perceived disgrace and stigma.
Ruhama services were provided to a total of 51 nationalities last year in which several towns and cities of Ireland were included. The exploitation is massive in numbers that the CEO feels should now be handled more tactically.
At the launch of the report, Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee and Garda Commissioner, Drew Harris were also present. Miss McEntee admired the work of the Ruhama organisation by saying that transforming the lives of sex victims has a real-life impact for the rest of their lives.
She corroborated Miss Condon’s statement that the daily impact of sexual activities on women was a burden that they carried each day with themselves. The recovery seems to be a lifelong princess as they “are forced into the sex trade, many whom’s lives are devastated”, Miss McEntee believed.
Miss McEntee expressed that she was proud to be a part of this cause and would offer further support to Ruhama who has been doing an amazing job proving to be a hope for women victims throughout the country.
The Minister of Justice admitted that this is just the tip of the iceberg and with the collaboration of Gardai, legislation and the relevant authorities, Ruhama can go a long way to protect sexual violence victims.