Why can’t we protect girls in State care from sexual exploitation?

Vulnerable girls in State care are being groomed and coerced into sex acts with multiple men, in exchange for goods such as clothes and jewellery, or at the instruction of older men they viewed as their boyfriends.

The study by University College Dublin (UCD) School of Social Policy detailed cases of girls being taken from residential care homes by taxis and brought to hotels, where they were then sexually exploited and abused, often after being supplied with drugs. The findings were based on interviews with staff who work with children in the care of Tusla, the child and family agency, and prompted the researchers to call for an “immediate investigation” into the organised exploitation.

For Irish Times reporter Jack Power, the harrowing findings reflect what he has been hearing from sources working in the area for the past three years and confirm his belief that the problem is even more widespread than revealed in the research study. In December 2022 he reported on an alleged child exploitation “ring” that targeted teenage girls in State care. Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon.