Belfast community concern over brothels as protest held

“We have concerns about the impact these have on local families alongside the safety of the women involved who may have been trafficked”

Concerns have been raised about the impact alleged brothels are having on a community in South Belfast with fears women are being trafficked to the city from around the world.

On Sunday, August 10, a protest was held outside a property in the Ravenhill Avenue area that was alleged as being used as a brothel.

The police attended the incident saying the protest dispersed without incident and no arrests were made, with the force later warning that it would “not tolerate any type of vigilante activity” or groups “taking the law into their own hands”.

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However, community representatives have said they are very worried about the growing number of brothels in the area from Ravenhill Road to Woodstock Road and the impact this is having on local families and the women involved who may have been trafficked from across the world.

Speaking to Belfast Live, George Newell, of the Lagan Village Youth & Community Group, said there was a lot of concern in the community about the alleged brothels and frustration over a lack of response from police. He also said there were fears over the safety of the women involved, saying that one was recently threatened by a man with a knife who had “refused to pay”.

George said: “This is a residential area with lots of young families and children and the community is becoming very concerned over what appears to be a growing number of brothels operating here. We have heard reports of children seeing women answer the door completely naked and there could be more than a dozen men a day visiting these properties.

“Alongside this, we also have concerns for the safety of the women who are involved in this, who are from all over the world and have likely been trafficked here. They have been manipulated and are controlled and it is no life for them to live as the men attending these brothels can have serious health and hygiene issues or be very dangerous. There was one incident recently where a man pulled a knife on a woman after refusing to pay her.

“The police have been asked to speak to the women about trafficking concerns and take action against this and there is a lot of frustration that nothing seems to be done. The protest on Sunday was in response to this as the community feels that nothing else is being done to deal with the issue.”

Police have said that they attended an incident on Sunday, August 11, on Ravenhill Avenue where a crowd gathered outside a house and became hostile to those inside.

Chief Inspector Dunne said: “At approximately 11pm, it was reported that a large crowd had gathered outside the house and had become hostile towards the residents.“Officers attended and spoke to the crowd, which dispersed without incident.“No arrests were made.“The Police Service of Northern Ireland does not tolerate any type of vigilante activity and would caution any individual or group against taking the law into their own hands.“It is the responsibility of the police service to enforce the law in Northern Ireland and we are committed to supporting the needs of all of our diverse communities.“We will robustly review and deal with any offences reported to us.”

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